An Original Piranesi Engraving
Many years before I started my own consulting business, I met an art dealer from England who traveled to Atlanta a couple times each year to deliver pieces she had acquired for prominent clients and collectors. She initially hired me to help teach her how to buy and sell antique books and prints using the Internet long before the proliferation of online marketplaces that made it easy, however we became and remained close friends and she gave me an original Piranesi engraving as a gift. I love this piece for so many reasons not just because of her generosity but because it also has some historical significance.
The inscription translated from Italian which is so perfectly, elegantly, and delicately carved reads as follows:
Another view of the ancient marble Tripod kept in the Capitoline Museum.
Dedicated to the Honorable Knight Edward Walter.
Among the remains of ancient works which are seen arranged in some fireplaces of my museum, they were combined with such skill that a modern observer might undertake and create a connection making it seem as if everything comes from the same antiquity. But you, Sir, having shown such appreciation for two of these acquisitions of mine and wanting not only to acquire my works published so far, but also some other pieces of antiquity from my museum, has made you known to everyone as a man of taste. Therefore, I dedicate to you, Sir, this tripod and among other monuments in this collection, dedicate them to your family who have such a great love for the fine arts.
With homage, Sir Gio Batta Piranesi.
I now know that Piranesi was a respected archaeologist, architect, and artist during the 1700’s and it’s almost mind-blowing how he managed to carve and engrave such amazing detail in all his works. Thanks to the Internet, I also now know that Sir Edward Walter to whom Piranesi dedicated this piece was knighted about that same time.
Thank you, Gillian! You have always encouraged and inspired me in ways that you that you cannot possibly understand or may never comprehend. RjZ