Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 118, The Wolfson Gallery

The Temple of Apollo Didymaeus near Miletus

Engraving
1769 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
This print was produced by a combination of two printmaking techniques: etching and engraving. An etching is produced by biting lines in a metal plate with acid. An engraving is made by first cutting lines into the surface of a flat piece of metal. The printmaker makes lines of both types on a single piece of metal which are then filled with ink and printed onto paper to produce the image.

Patrons: The Society of Dilettanti
The Society of Dilettanti was formed in 1734. The original members of the society were aristocratic gentlemen who had returned from the Grand Tour, and formed a society to encourage the fine arts in Britain.

In April 1764 the Society of Dilettanti sent an expedition to Asia Minor (now Turkey) 'to collect Informations relative to the former state of those countries, and particularly to procure exact descriptions of the Ruins of such Monuments of Antiquity as are yet to be seen in those parts'. The results of the expedition were published in two volumes, entitled The Antiquities of Ionia, in 1769 and 1798. The volumes contained engravings of ancient sites in Greece and Asia Minor, accompanied by architectural and historical information.

Subject Depicted
This print shows part of the ruins of the Temple of Apollo Didymaeus near Miletus, an ancient city settled by the Greeks in Ionia, the central west coast of present-day Turkey. The accompanying text makes it clear that the artist included the two local men to give some indication of the great size of the ruined capitals.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Temple of Apollo Didymaeus near Miletus (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Engraving and etching, ink on paper
Brief description
Engraving of The Temple of Apollo Didymaeus near Miletus
Physical description
Engraving
Dimensions
  • Paper height: 20cm
  • Paper width: 23.4cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 31/08/2000 by Mounters
Gallery label
British Galleries: The Antiquities of Ionia' was the first attempt by the Society of Dilettanti in London to record the ancient ruins of Greece. The society was established in 1732 by a group of Grand Tourists interested in classical antiquity and eager to promote the study of it.(27/03/2003)
Object history
Plate from 'The Antiquities of Ionia' by William Woollett (born in Maidstone, Kent, 1735, died in London, 1785) and John James Basire (born in London, 1730, died there in 1802); published in London
Summary
Object Type
This print was produced by a combination of two printmaking techniques: etching and engraving. An etching is produced by biting lines in a metal plate with acid. An engraving is made by first cutting lines into the surface of a flat piece of metal. The printmaker makes lines of both types on a single piece of metal which are then filled with ink and printed onto paper to produce the image.

Patrons: The Society of Dilettanti
The Society of Dilettanti was formed in 1734. The original members of the society were aristocratic gentlemen who had returned from the Grand Tour, and formed a society to encourage the fine arts in Britain.

In April 1764 the Society of Dilettanti sent an expedition to Asia Minor (now Turkey) 'to collect Informations relative to the former state of those countries, and particularly to procure exact descriptions of the Ruins of such Monuments of Antiquity as are yet to be seen in those parts'. The results of the expedition were published in two volumes, entitled The Antiquities of Ionia, in 1769 and 1798. The volumes contained engravings of ancient sites in Greece and Asia Minor, accompanied by architectural and historical information.

Subject Depicted
This print shows part of the ruins of the Temple of Apollo Didymaeus near Miletus, an ancient city settled by the Greeks in Ionia, the central west coast of present-day Turkey. The accompanying text makes it clear that the artist included the two local men to give some indication of the great size of the ruined capitals.
Collection
Accession number
25016:228

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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