PBA Galleries

Engraved pictorial title page, portrait and 60 full-page copper engraved plates by Dominique Barrière, including 41 statues and 19 busts from the buildings and gardens of the Villa Pamphili. One plate with old hand-coloring. Letterpress title and dedication leaves not present. (Folio) 41.5x29.5 cm (16½x11½") later calf-backed boards.

Lacking 9 plates of statues, and 3 of busts. Also lacking the 10 folding plates by Giovanni Battista Falda. Rare in any condition. A scarce and desirable volume of plates depicting the statuary of the Villa Pamphili, the last and perhaps most magnificent of the 16th & 17th century Roman villas. Designed by architect G.F. Grimaldi and sculptor Algardi, construction lasted from 1644 to 1648, and the gardens were laid out two years later. The main feature of the gardens was the remarkable collection of Roman and Greek statuary, displayed in niches of the facade and throughout the grounds. Shortly after this collection was installed, Pamphili commissioned Barrière to create engravings cataloguing the Villa and gardens. After Pamphili's death in 1666, the plates were inherited by his son Giambattista, who presumably arranged the publication of the present work.