Cotton MS Augustus III/2

This manuscript contains the second and larger part of a collection of engravings and woodcuts of ancient Roman architecture and art as it was found in 16th-century Rome (the first part is found in Cotton MS Augustus III/1). The collection features prints by Dutch, French, German and Italian artists, predominantly those published by Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri who worked together in Rome between 1553-1563. The prints were bought by tourists and collectors and bound into albums. In 1573, Lafreri published a title-page for this purpose, providing the title Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae ('The Mirror of Roman Magnificence'). The first volume is now bound as Cotton MS Augustus III/1.

Contents:

f. 53r: Print of the Colosseum in Rome from the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae; anonymous; 1538, printed by Antonius Salamanca.

f. 54r: Print of the Amphithreatrum Castrense in Rome from the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae; Anonymous, 1560, printed by Antonio Lafreri.

f. 55r: Print of reconstsructed view of the Arch of Constantine; Anonymous; c. 1547-1560, printed by Antonio Lafreri.

f. 56r: Print of the Tiber Island with the Temple of Aesculapius, with Greek and Latin inscriptions; Giovanni Ambrogio Brambilla; 1582.

f. 57r: Print of the entrance to the Temple of Romulus and Remus in Rome from the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae; (?) Ambrogio Brambilla; 1582.

f. 58r: Print of an antique triumphal arch; Monogrammist ‘GA’; c. 1530-1540.

f. 59r: Print of the Arch of Constantine; Agostino Veneziano (attributed); c. 1515-1560.

f. 60r: Print of columns and entablature from the Temple of Venux Genetrix; Giovanni Battistata de' Cavalieri; 1569.

f. 61r: Print of the Altar of Eros from the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae; Agostino Veneziano; c. 1514-1536.

f. 62r: Print of the Arch of Vespasian (in reconstructed form) from the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae; Anonymous; 1548.

f. 63r: Print of the Septizodium from the Speculum Romanae Magnificentia; Anonymous; 1556.

f. 64r: Print of the Pyramid of Caius Cestius; Nicolaus van Aelst; 1549.

f. 65r: Print of Capitoline Hill; Etienne Dupérac, after Michelangelo; 1568.

f. 66r: Print on the Bacchic porphyri sarcophagus in a temple from the via Nomentana; Anonymous; 1553, but published by Giovanni Orlandi in 1602.

f. 67r: Print of a relief from the Throne of Neptune in Ravenna from the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae; Marco Dente, after Raphael; 1519, later publication by Claudio Duchetti.

f. 68r: Print of Caesar Octavian, Mark Anthony, and Lepidus (entitled: ‘Adlocutio’); Anonymous (? ‘Stefanus F’); 1570.

f. 69r: Print of the Justice of Trajan; Hans Sebald Beham (with a monogram of his initials ‘H.S.B.’); 1537.

f. 70r: Print of the Column of Antoninus and the Vatican Obelisk with a she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus below; Enea Vico; c. 1543-1544.

f. 71r: Print of the 'Colonna Santa' in St Peter's in Rome (then believed to have been one of the two columns from the gate of the Temple of Solomon) from the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae; by Nicolas Beatrizet; c. 1560.

f. 72r: Print of Trajan's Column, section and elevations, from the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae; Anonymous; 16th century.

f. 73r: Print (perhaps unique) of the Column of Marcus Aurelius (after its restoration in 1589) and Column of Hadrian; Anonymous; late 16th century.

f. 74r: Print of the Column of Antoninus and the Vatican Obelisk with a she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus below (reversed engraving of f. 70r); Enea Vico; c. 1543-1544.

f. 75r: Print of the Column of Trajan from the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae; anonymous; 1544, printed by Antonio Lafreri.

f. 76r: Print of a decorated capital and base in the Temple of Jupiter in Rome from the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae; Monogrammist 'G.A.' (attributed); c. 1537.

f. 77r: Print of the base of the Column of Theodosius from the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae, with an inscription in Italian; School of Marcantonio Raimondi; 16th century, printed by Antonio Salamanca.

f. 78r: Print of the Column of Trajan from the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae; Anonymous; 1544.

f. 79r: Print of part of a classical candelabrum with acanthus decoration in S. Agnese fuori le Muri (Church of Saint Agnes Outside the Walls) in Rome; Agostino Veneziano; c. 1530-1535. A pen drawing of a human face on its reverse (f. 79v).

f. 80r: Print of the Apollo Belvedere; Marcantoine Raimondi; c. 1510-1527.

f. 81r: Print of a broken statue of a young man in a Roman garment, wearing sandals decorated with animals’ heads, and standing beside a tree trunk )unidentified statue that is drawn from a different angle on f. 85); the statue’s arms are broken off; (?) Marco Dente; 16th century. Below is a handwritten 16th- or 17th-century inscription in Dutch that gives the dimensions of the original statue in ells (cubits): ‘Dit stuck moet lanck wysen / 2 1/2 3/16 / ellen / ende depe 3 ellen 1/8’.

f. 82: Print of La Profumiera (‘The Censer’); Marcantonio Raimondi, after Raphael; c. 1515-1525.

f. 83r: Print of the Apollo Belvedere from the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae; Agostino Veneziano (with his initials 'A.V.'); c. 1514-1536.

f. 84r: Print (possibly unique) of a statue of Pomona, goddess of fruits; ‘I.M.’; 1559.

f. 85r: Print (possibly unique) of a broken statue of a young man in a Roman garment, wearing sandals decorated with animals’ heads, and with a shield standing behind him against a tree trunk (unidentified statue that is drawn from a different angle on f. 81r); the statue’s arms are broken off. Below is a handwritten 16th- or 17th-century inscription in Dutch that gives the dimensions of the original statue in ells (cubits): ‘Dit stucke moet lanck wysen / 2 1/2 3/16 / ellen / ende depe / 3 1/8 ellen /’.

f. 86r: Print of the Apollo Citharoedus of the Casa Sassi; Marcantonio Raimondi; c. 1510-1527.

f. 87r: Print of the Three Graces from the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae; Marcantonio Raimondi; c. 1500-1534.

f. 88r: Print of statues in the delle Vale collection; Enea Vico (with his initials 'E.V.'); 1541, printed by Antonio Salamanca.

f. 89r: Print of the Fedele or Spinario (Boy with Thorn) sculpture at the Palazzo dei Conservatori on Capitoline Hill in Rome; Marco Dente (with a monogam of his initials ‘M.D.’); c. 1515-1527.

f. 90r: Print of the Farnese Hercules, with a Greek inscription; Jacob Bos; 1562, published by Antonio Lafreri.

f. 91r: Print of Hercules Colossus at Padua from the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae; with the inscriptions ‘a Paulo Gratiano quesita’ and ‘Petri de Nobilibus Formis’; anonymous; 1553.

f. 92r: Print of Emperor Commodus as Hercules from the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae; Jacob Bos; 1550, published by Antonio Lafreri.

f. 93r: Print of the so-called 'Belvedere Antinous', a statue of Hermes found near Castel Sant'Angelo (Mausoleum of Hadrian); Pieter Perret; 1580, published by Hendrick van Schoel.

f. 94r: Print of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius on Capitoline Hill in Rome from the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae; Nicolas Beatrizet (with a monogram of his initials ‘N.B. F.’); 1548.

f. 95r: Print of the marble group of Laokoon and his sons being strangled by sea serpents; Cornelis Bos (‘Cornelius Bos faceciebat’), after Marco Dente; 1548.

f. 96r: A print of a statue of the personification of Rome flanked by two captive Numidian kings, with the inscription: 'Roma Victrix de Dacia provincia subacta triumphans'; Nicolas Beatrizet; 1549, published by Antonio Lafreri.

f. 97r: Print of an ewer with a single handle emerging from a mascaron with faces encircled by flower leaves on its body; below it is the following inscription: ‘Sic Romae antiqui sculptores ex aere et marmore faciebant'; Enea Vico (with his initials 'A.V.'); 1531.

f. 98r: Print of a ewer with a single handle emerging from a mascaron and developing into a satyr holding a scallop shell over the ewer’s opening, and featuring snails, fish, ram’s heads, and scallops on its body; below it is the following inscription: 'Romae ab antiquo repertum'; Enea Vico (with his initials 'ÆV.'); 1543.

f. 99r: Print of an ewer with a human figure as a neck. The man is entwined by a snake that develops into and forms a handle and himself blows into a conch shell, with below him, a putto kneeling down on the body and holding a plate below the conch shell’s opening. The body features a ram’s head and two human figures holding a table (with the inscription: ‘S. P. Q. R.’); below it is the following inscription: 'Romae ab antiquo repertum'; Enea Vico (with his initials 'Æ.V.'); 1543.

f. 100r: Print of an ewer with a dog standing on its hind legs and looking into the ewer's opening as a handle, with on its body ram's heads an a woman's head and a naval battle; and an inscription below: 'Romae ab antiquo repertum'; Enea Vico (with his initials 'Æ.V.'); 1543.

f. 101r: Print of an urn with two handles emerging from the heads of two mascarons and with depictions of an altar with fire (? Temple of Vesta) and a she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus; below it is the following inscription: 'Romae ab antiquo repertum'; Enea Vico (with his initials 'Æ.V.'); 1543.

f. 102r: Print of a lidded urn and an inscription below: 'Romae ab antiquo repertum'; by Enea Vico (with his initials 'Æ.V.'); 1543.

f. 103r: Print of an urn with an animal's paw standing on a satyr’s head as a handle, a grotesque with a bowl in its mouth as a neck, and two figures kneeling before a herm sculpture on its body; below it is the following inscription: 'Romae ab antiquo repertum'; Enea Vico (with his initials 'Æ.V.'); 1543.

f. 104r: Print of an ewer with a handle formed out of two snakes emerging from a winged head and looking into the ewer’s scallop shell-shaped opening; with herms, centaurs, horses, mermen and sea nymphs on its body; below it is the following inscription: 'Romae ab antiquo repertum'; Enea Vico (with his initials 'Æ.V.'); 1543.

f. 105r: Print of an urn with two handles and on its body a winged putto urinating into a bowl while a snake approaches; below it is the following inscription: ‘Ex Romanis antiquitatibus’; Enea Vico (with his initials 'Æ.V.'); 1543.

f. 107r: Print of a lidded urn with, at the centre of its body, a female face flanked by two hybrid figures (men with foliage as lower bodies) holding a garland between them; below it is the following inscription: 'Romae ab antiquo repertum'; Enea Vico (with his initials 'Æ.V.'); 1543.

f. 108r: Print of a lidded urn with entwined snakes as handles, and putti, holding garlands between them, on its body; below it is the following inscription: ‘Sic Romae antiqui sculptores ex aere et marmore faciebant'; Enea Vico (with his initials 'A.V.'); 1530.

f. 109r: Print of a lidded urn with lions’ paws standing on mascarons as handles, and two lion’s facing a diamond ring on its body; below it is the following inscription: ‘Sic Romae antiqui sculptores ex aere et marmore faciebant'; Enea Vico (with his initials 'A.V.'); 1531.

f. 110r: Print of an ewer with a bird’s paw standing onto a satyr’s head and developing into a lion as a handle, with a crab holding garlands on its body [below it is the following inscription: ‘Sic Romae antiqui sculptores ex aere et marmore faciebant']; Enea Vico (with his initials 'A.V.'); 1531.

f. 111r: Print of an urn with swans’ heads and necks as handles, and a procession of men and women, one of whom is being given an ewer by a winged putto, on its body; below it is the following inscription: ‘Sic Romae antiqui sculptores ex aere et marmore faciebant'; Enea Vico (with his initials 'A.V.'); 1530.

f. 112r: Print of a lidded urn with two lion’s heads covered in foliage as handles, and foliate motifs above a satyr’s head on its body; below it is the following inscription: ‘Sic Romae antiqui sculptores ex aere et marmore faciebant'; Enea Vico (with his initials 'A.V.'); 1530.

f. 113r: Print of an ewer with a bird's leg standing on a winged mermaid, and developing into a mascaron as a handle; a spiral neck; and mascarons and a crab on its body; below it is the following inscription: 'Romae ab antiquo repertum'; Enea Vico (with his initials 'E.V.'); 1543.

f. 114r: Print of an ewer with a hybrid figure as a handle that has the body of a man, snakes as arms, and the lower body of a sea creature, with dolphins, tridents, rams’ heads and an ox’s skull on its body; below it is the following inscription: 'Romae ab antiquo repertum'; Enea Vico (with his initials 'E.V.'); 1543.

f. 115r: Print of an ewer with a panther standing on its hind legs on a mascaron, and with lion's heads and garlands on its body; below it is the following inscription: 'Romae ab antiquo repertum'; Enea Vico (with his initials 'Æ.V.'); 1543.

f. 116r: Print of an urn with handles held by lion's heads, and with a lion walking on a branch on its body; below it is the following inscription: 'Sic Romae antiqui sculptores ex aere et marmore faciebant'; Enea Vico (with his initials 'Æ.V.'); 1543.

f. 117r: Print of an ewer with a three-lobed opening, and a plain undecorated body; below it is the following inscription: 'Sic Romae antiqui sculptores ex aere et marmore faciebant'; Enea Vico (with his initials 'A.V.'); 1531.

f. 118r: Print of an urn with two hybrids with the tails of sea horses, birds' wings, and the upper bodies of sea nymphs whose heads develop into arms that form two handles. Its body features an ox’s head above a garland that is held between the hybrid’s tails; below it is the following inscription: 'Romae ab antiquo repertum'; Enea Vico (with his initials 'Æ.V.'); 1543.

f. 119r: Print of an urn with spiralling handles and a row of winged putti on its body; below it is the following inscription: 'Sic Romae antiqui sculptores ex aere et marmore faciebant'; Enea Vico (with his initials 'A.V.'); 1530.

f. 120r: Print of the Holy Family at a fountain in a chapel; Albrecht Altdorfter (with a monogram of his initials 'A.A.'); c. 1512-1515.