This print is from Vases, Candelabra, Grave Stones, Sarcophagi, Tripods, Lamps, and Ornaments Designed and Etched by Cavaliere Giovanni Battista Piranesi,which consists of two bound volumes of etchings. These are Volumes 12 and 13 of the 27 folio volumes of works by Giovanni Battista and his son Francesco Piranesi, published in Paris by the Calcographie des Piranesi frères (1800–1807).

Volume 12 contains 55 plates, while Volume 13 includes 71 plates. Both are uniformly bound in red half morocco over marbled boards by Tessier, Paris (label in each volume), with spines featuring raised gilt bands. The complete sets of prints in these volumes correspond to accession numbers E.4553-4608-1908 (Volume 12) and E.4609-4679-1908 (Volume 13). The copperplates are in the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica, Rome.

During the late eighteenth century, the restoration and trade of classical antiquities flourished in Rome, with Giovanni Battista Piranesi playing a central role. After the death of Clement XIII in 1769 and the decline of Rezzonico patronage, Piranesi increasingly relied on this activity, working closely with figures like Thomas Jenkins and Gavin Hamilton. Hamilton’s excavations in the Pantanello area of Hadrian’s Villa provided valuable artifacts for British aristocrats on the Grand Tour. To cater to this market, Piranesi established a showroom in Palazzo Tomati, near Piazza di Spagna, strategically positioned in Rome’s British quarter.

From 1768, Piranesi published plates depicting antiquities, including urns, sarcophagi, and the Warwick Vase. These works, compiled in Vasi, candelabri, cippi, sarcofagi… (1778), included detailed inscriptions on the objects’ origins and locations. Some plates were dedicated to influential patrons, and multiple views were provided for complex pieces. When necessary, Piranesi reconstructed missing elements, sometimes borrowing motifs from other sources.

His approach to restoration went beyond conventional practices. In Diverse Maniere, he advocated for the creative reuse of classical elements, combining motifs from different styles. His designs included chimneypieces for Lord Exeter and John Hope, monumental candelabra, and furniture pieces incorporating ancient fragments. Notable examples include candelabra now in the Ashmolean Museum and the Louvre, as well as his Egyptian-style decorations for the Caffè degli Inglesi in Rome.

Although his methods were criticized by some contemporaries, Piranesi’s work had a lasting impact on neoclassical design, influencing figures like Robert Adam, Thomas Hope, and Percier. The 110 plates of the Vasi were eventually gathered into two folio volumes, with Francesco Piranesi contributing additional plates between 1779 and 1780. Their publication further cemented Piranesi’s role in shaping the perception and adaptation of antiquity in eighteenth century European decorative arts.