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Print
Veneziano, Agostino - Enlarge image
- Place of origin:
Italy (Published)
- Date:
1531 (Published)
- Artist/Maker:
Veneziano, Agostino (printmaker)
Salamanca, Antonio, born 1478 - died 1562 (publisher) - Materials and Techniques:
Engraving
- Museum number:
16842
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 56d, case 17
Object Type
This is a print of a type known as an engraving, made it by incising lines in a metal printing plate which were then filled with ink and transferred onto a sheet of blank paper. It is one of a set of twelve all made by the Agostino Veneziano. The other prints in the set either depict ewers similar to this one, or vases.
People
An engraver called Agostino Veneziano (about 1490-after 1536) made this print. His name indicates that he originated from Venice although he spent much of his working life in Rome.
Subject Depicted
This print depicts a ewer, a sort of jug for water or other liquid, with a narrow neck and a wide mouth. The lettering in Latin across the bottom of the print translates as 'The ancient sculptors in Rome fashioned thus in bronze and marble'.
Both the appearance of the object and the lettering suggest that we are looking at the depiction of a real object dating from Roman Antiquity. It is also possible however that the engraver may have conjured it partly out of his imagination, on the basis of having seen excavated archaeological fragments of this type of object.
Place
Agostino Veneziano engraved and published this print in Rome, the most important location for the production of prints in Italy in the 16th century.
Time
Agostino Veneziano engraved this print in 1531. It is one of the earliest Italian prints claiming to depict an ancient Roman ewer.
