Enea Vico – Le Imagini delle Donne Auguste – Original Engraved Title Page – First Edition – Venice, 1557

Description

A highly decorative and important original Renaissance engraved title page from the first edition of Enea Vico’s Le imagini delle donne auguste intagliate in istampa di rame; con le vite, et ispositioni di Enea Vico sopra i riversi delle loro medaglie antiche. Libro primo, published in Venice in 1557 by Enea Vico Parmigiano and Vincenzo Valgrisi, at the sign of Erasmus.

Measuring approximately 15.2 x 20.9 cm, the engraving forms the elaborate architectural entrance to one of the most significant sixteenth-century works combining antiquarian scholarship, numismatics, biography and reproductive engraving.

The complete title reads:

“LE IMAGINI DELLE DONNE AVGVSTE INTAGLIATE IN ISTAMPA DI RAME; CON LE VITE, ET ISPOSITIONI DI ENEA VICO SOPRA I RIVERSI DELLE LORO MEDAGLIE ANTICHE. LIBRO PRIMO.”

The imprint at the foot reads:

“IN VINEGIA APPRESSO ENEA VICO PARMIGIANO ET VINCENZO VALGRISIO, ALL’INSEGNA D’ERASMO. M.D.LVII.”

The date M.D.LVII establishes this as the 1557 first edition. Institutional records at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, HathiTrust, the Getty Research Institute and other major collections independently identify the edition as Venice, 1557.

The title is enclosed within an exceptionally elaborate engraved Renaissance architectural framework. Classical columns support a richly ornamented entablature, while the central field is surrounded by swags of fruit and foliage, grotesque masks, fantastic creatures and numerous putti. Immediately beneath the title tablet is a large eagle with outspread wings; below, two putti ride horned animals while playing musical instruments. The whole is conceived as an ornate antique architectural monument, reflecting Vico’s intense engagement with Roman antiquity.

Enea Vico (1523–1567), born at Parma, was both the author and illustrator of the work. The Metropolitan Museum specifically records him in both capacities. His combination of scholarship and engraving was particularly suited to numismatic study: ancient coins could provide visual evidence for rulers and members of the imperial family whose appearance was otherwise imperfectly preserved.

Le imagini delle donne auguste concentrates upon the women of the Roman imperial families, combining biographies with engraved representations derived from ancient medals and coins and explanations of their reverse types. A contemporary complete copy contains 63 full-page engravings of medallion portraits, together with smaller numismatic illustrations and historiated initials. HathiTrust records the 1557 edition as having sixty-three full-page engravings and an engraved title depicting a sculptured monument.

The work ranges through women associated with the Julio-Claudian and Flavian imperial dynasties and constitutes an important early attempt to use ancient numismatic evidence as a source for historical portraiture and biography. The title itself announces Vico’s intention to explain the imagery found on the reverses of ancient medals as well as reproduce the portraits on their obverses.

The book was conceived as “Libro primo”, although no continuation was ultimately published; HathiTrust explicitly records the volume as having “no more published”.

Its contemporary significance is demonstrated by the appearance only a year later of a Latin translation, Augustarum imagines aereis formis expressae, Venice, 1558. The surviving Latin edition is recorded as a translation of Vico’s Le imagini delle donne auguste.

This particular leaf is consequently much more than an ornamental Renaissance engraving. It is the original title page to Vico’s first edition, combining the work’s title, authorship, subject, publishers and exact 1557 Venetian imprint within one of the book’s most sophisticated engraved compositions.

Verso

The verso carries the privilege statement beginning:

“Con Privilegio del Papa / Di Carlo V. Imperadore / Di Filippo Re di Spagna, d’Inghilterra, & di Napoli…”

and continuing with privileges associated with the Count of Flanders, Duke of Milan, the Signoria of Venice and the Duke of Florence.

The survival of this printed privilege text on the reverse is important bibliographically because it demonstrates that this is an actual title leaf removed from the original book, rather than a later restrike of the engraved title plate.

Condition

Good overall condition for an original engraved title leaf of 1557.

The engraved recto presents particularly well, with the architectural border, title tablet and principal figurative decoration substantially complete and retaining a fine, clear impression. There is general age-toning, light scattered spotting and some minor surface marking consistent with age.

The verso displays evidence of historic mounting and conservation, including old paper hinges, small paper repair tabs and areas of reinforcement, particularly towards the upper edge and elsewhere around the sheet. There is some associated staining and surface marking. These interventions are principally visible from the verso and have relatively little effect upon the appearance of the principal engraved side.

The engraved title remains visually strong and highly suitable for display. Please study the photographs carefully as they form an important part of the condition description.

Artist and Author

Enea Vico (1523–1567)

Title

Le imagini delle donne auguste intagliate in istampa di rame; con le vite, et ispositioni di Enea Vico sopra i riversi delle loro medaglie antiche. Libro primo

Edition

First Edition

Publishers

Enea Vico Parmigiano and Vincenzo Valgrisi

Place

Venice [Vinegia]

Date

1557

Size

15.2 x 20.9 cm

Medium

Original copper engraving and letterpress privilege text on laid paper.

Subject

Roman imperial women; Roman empresses; ancient coins and medals; Renaissance numismatics; classical antiquity; Roman portraiture; sixteenth-century Venetian printing.

Authentication and Research

This original leaf has been handled, inspected and catalogued in-house at our Ripon gallery. Its title, imprint, date and authorship have been checked against surviving institutional copies, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Getty Research Institute. The Met identifies Vico as both writer and illustrator and confirms Venice, Vincenzo Valgrisi, 1557, while the digitised Getty copy provides a complete institutional comparison for the edition.

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