Le Antichità di Ercolano Esposte

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Le Antichità di Ercolano Esposte[1] (The Antiquities discovered in Herculaneum) is an 8 volume book. Its publication was initiated by command of Charles III of Spain and printed in Naples from 1755 to 1792 under the direction of the Accademia Ercolanese (Herculaneum Academy).

These volumes were among the first descriptions of the excavations of the Herculaneum and were to have a decisive influence on incipient Neoclassicism, out of all proportion to its limited circulation; in the later 18th century, motifs from Herculaneum began to appear on stylish furnishings, from decorative wall-paintings and tripod tables to perfume burners and teacups.

However, the book was not always favourably received. In 1775 the London review The Monthly Review called it "obscene trash" that "would be better consigned to oblivion".[2].

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-'''''Le Antichità di Ercolano Esposte'''''[http://www.picure.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/arc/ercolano/index.html] (The Antiquities discovered in [[Herculaneum]]) is an 8 volume book. Its publication was initiated by command of [[Charles III of Spain]] and printed in Naples from 1755 to 1792 under the direction of the [[Accademia Ercolanese]] (Herculaneum Academy).
+'''''Le Antichità di Ercolano Esposte'''''[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/ercolano1757ga] (The Antiquities discovered in [[Herculaneum]]) is an 8 volume book. Its publication was initiated by command of [[Charles III of Spain]] and printed in Naples from 1755 to 1792 under the direction of the [[Accademia Ercolanese]] (Herculaneum Academy).
-These volume were to have a decisive influence on Neoclassicism.
+These volumes were among the [[first descriptions of the excavations of the Herculaneum]] and were to have a decisive influence on incipient Neoclassicism, out of all proportion to its limited circulation; in the later 18th century, motifs from Herculaneum began to appear on stylish furnishings, from decorative wall-paintings and tripod tables to perfume burners and teacups.
-They were not always favourably received. In 1775 the London review [[The Monthly review]] called them  "obscene trash" that "would be better consigned to oblivion".[http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2007/2007-05-39.html].
+However, the book was not always favourably received. In 1775 the London review [[Monthly Review (London)  |The Monthly Review]] called it  "obscene trash" that "would be better consigned to oblivion".[http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2007/2007-05-39.html].
-Under the chairmanship of the marquis [[Bernardo Tanucci]], the Accademia - consisting of fifteen ordinary citizens whose principal task was to superintend the excavations whilst studying discoveries and publishing the results of research - began immediately to publish objects recovered from the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
-The volumes should be considered a collective work by all members of the Accademia Ercolanese. The first volume was written by the secretary [[Francesco Valletta]] and was dedicated to Carlo III, king of Naples. The following volumes too were dedicated by the members of the Accademia to its founder, Carlo III.
-The complete work was composed of about 619 (the number varies depending on the source) big copperplate engravings printed to full-page size, some of them doubles. There are 836 vignettes, at the beginning and end of most chapters, and 540 capital letters designed by [[Luigi Vanvitelli]] and engraved by [[Carlo Nolli]].
-For this publication King Carlo III had created, in addition to the Accademia Ercolanese, a school of engravers and designers in [[Portici]]. Amongst the principal designers who collaborated in the completion of Le Antichità di Ercolano Esposte were [[Francesco La Vega]], [[Camillo Paderni]], [[Vanni]] and [[Giovanni Morghen]]. Amongst the engravers were a Frenchman called Pierre Gaultier, Filippo Morghen from Florence, Francesco Cepparoli from Naples and Nicola Billy from Rome.
-The work anticipated as many as forty volumes, but only eight volumes were published in 35 years. Its editorial work was slow and scholars had difficulty in acquiring the material. The completed volumes were not actually put up for sale, but were donated personally to members of the royal family or the highest dignitaries. However, their power as cultural propaganda was tremendous. The pictures became, albeit indirectly, so familiar to the vast public that after only a few years, "economical" editions in various languages appeared in a reduced format, with beautiful plates redesigned and re-engraved: in England in 1773, in Germany with the Murr and Kilian edition in 1778, in France in 1780 and finally also in Italy, in the papal city Rome, with the volumes of Tiroli in 1789.
-Many years later, in 1833, efforts were made to continue the work using the same system. Thus the Accademia Ercolanese began working on the [[Temple of Isis]] in [[Pompeii]], the result being published in 1851. Yet only the first issue of this work was brought out. This anonymous work was compiled by the then secretary of the Accademia Ercolanese, Francesco Maria Avellino.
-The ancient paintings of Ercolano and its environs engraved with some explanation (Le Pitture antiche di Ercolano e contorni, incise con qualche spiegazione). Volume I, Naples (Royal Printing House) 1757, in folio, two frontispieces, one plate not numbered with a portrait of Carlo III painted by Camillo Paderni and engraved by Filippo Morghen, dedicated to Carlo III.
-The ancient paintings of Ercolano and its environs engraved with some explanation (Le Pitture antiche di Ercolano e contorni incise con qualche spiegazione). Volume II, Naples (Royal Printing House) 1760, in folio, one frontispiece, one plate not numbered with a portrait of Carlo III, dedicated to Carlo III.
-The ancient paintings of Ercolano and its environs engraved with some explanation (Le Pitture antiche di Ercolano e contorni incise con qualche spiegazione). Volume III, Naples (Royal Printing House) 1762, in folio, one frontispiece, one plate not numbered with a portrait of Carlo III, dedicated to Carlo III.
-The ancient paintings of Ercolano and its environs engraved with some explanation (Le Pitture antiche di Ercolano e contorni incise con qualche spiegazione). Volume IV, Naples (Royal Printing House) 1765, in folio, one frontispiece, one plate not numbered with a portrait of Carlo III, dedicated to Carlo III.
-The antiquities of Ercolano. Volume V or the first on the bronzes. The bronzes of Ercolano and its environs engraved with some explanation (Delle Antichità di Ercolano. Tomo V o sia primo de' bronzi. De' bronzi di Ercolano e controni incisi con qualche spiegazione). Volume I, Busts, Naples (Royal Printing House) 1767, in folio, two frontispieces, one plate not numbered with a portrait of Carlo III, dedicated to Carlo III, dated the tenth of May 1766.
-The antiquities of Ercolano. Volume VI or the second on the bronzes. The bronzes of Ercolano and its environs engraved with some explanation (Delle Antichità di Ercolano. Tomo VI o sia secondo de' bronzi. De' bronzi di Ercolano e controni incisi con qualche spiegazione). Volume II, Statues, Naples (Royal Printing House) 1771, in folio, two frontispieces, dedicated to Carlo III.
-The antiquities of Ercolano. Volume VII or the fifth on the paintings. The ancient paintings of Ercolano and its environs engraved with some explanation (Le pitture antiche di Ercolano e contorni incisi con qualche spiegazione). Volume V of the paintings. Naples (Royal Printing House) 1779, in folio, two frontispieces, dedicated to Carlo III.
-The antiquities of Ercolano. Volume VIII or on the lamps, lanterns and candelabra. The lamps and candelabra of Ercolano and its environs engraved with some explanation (Delle Antichità di Ercolano. Tomo VIII o sia delle lucerne, delle lanterne e de' candelabri. Le lucerne e candelabri di Ercolano e contorni incisi con qualche spiegazione). Single volume, Naples (Royal Printing House) 1792, in folio, two frontispieces, one plate not numbered with a portrait of Ferdinando IV painted by F. Liani III and engraved by G. Morghen.
-Catalogue of the Ancient Monuments disinterred from the discovered city of Herculaneum ... composed and drafted by Msgr. [[Ottavio Antonio Bayardi]] (Catalogo degli Antichi Monumenti dissotterrati dalla discoperta città di Ercolano ... composto e steso da Monsignor Ottavio Antonio Bayardi). Volume I (single volume), Naples (Royal Printing House) 1755, in folio, one frontispiece, four vignettes and one capital letter designed by C. Paderni and engraved by A. Piaggio.
-The Discovery of Herculaneum
-In 1738, the excavation of the ancient city of Herculaneum was initiated on the command of Carlo of Bourbon. 28 years earlier, at this site, [[Emanuele Maurizio of Elboeuf]], Prince of Lorraine, had discovered some sculptures of what would later be recognised as ancient theatre stages [1]. The king gave the task to [[Giovanni Antonio Medrano]], chief of court engineers, and to [[Roque Joaquin of Alcubierre]], military engineer, ordering them to start the excavation from the shaft used by d'Elboeuf [2].
-The research soon began to produce consistent results: the Theatre and the so-called Basilica were stripped of marble statues, bronzes, inscriptions and even wall paintings. The operation, first directed by Alcubierre, then by [[Bardet]] (until 1745), followed by [[Karl Jakob Weber|Weber]] (1750 to 1764), and finally by [[La Vega]], was very difficult because of the layer of volcanic material. This layer reached a depth of 27 metres due to successive eruptions (approximately 20 metres from the eruption of 79 AD and 7 metres from that of 1631). The excavation proceeded through a network of underground galleries (normally 0.60 metres long and 1.70 metres high), which were built by workers - convicts serving life sentences or those sentenced to hard labour. Within a few year, the College of Augustales, a large part of the Palestra and the [[Villa of Papyri]] were discovered, and the House of the Atrium and Mosaic and the House of the Deer were identified.
-The principal aim of the exploration was the acquisition of masterpieces, which would later constitute a unique collection. The treasures, retrieved from 1738 onwards, were taken to the Royal [[Palace of Portici]]. Thus these objects, reserved for the King, first adorned the rooms of the [[Royal Palace]] and then added to the collections of the Museum of Herculaneum in Portici. An erudite marquis, [[Marcello Venuti]], who worked in tandem with Alcubierre in the excavation, was responsible for the Library and the Museum of the Royal Palace. When Venuti left the kingdom in 1740, the post of conservator of the antiquities was entrusted to [[Camillo Paderni]], a painter from Rome with antiquarian experience who often disagreed with the direction of the excavation.
-A change in the style of excavation took place in 1749, when the Swiss military engineer [[Carl Jacob Weber]] was named assistant of Alcubierre, as the former assistant became engaged in new tasks in Naples following his promotion to lieutenant colonel. For almost 15 years Weber experimented with new methodology, paying attention not only to private buildings but also to public architecture and the fabric of the city. In fact, Weber was the first person to consider Herculaneum a city displaying the transformation of arts and architecture as well as the customs of the population. Another of Weber's ideas was to leave finds in situ, at least when possible, and to create a series of accurate reliefs of them. It suffices to remember the discovery of the suburban [[Villa of Papyri]], the plan of which, drawn up by him, remained extremely precise even after the archaeological exploration of 1987 and the modern excavation conducted between 1992 and 1997 [3]. He also made the innovative proposal that all finds from any building should be published in monographic volumes. This suggestion, however, was rejected.
-When Weber died, the task of directing the excavation was passed on to [[Francisco La Vega]]. The discovery of Pompeii in 1748 and subsequently that of [[Stabiae]] weakened interest in Herculaneum, particularly because of its difficult access and the danger of exploring through underground passages. It yielded its esteemed position to the more accessible ruins of the two open-air sites. Attention shifted increasingly to Pompeii and Stabiae, which were easier to excavate thanks to the shallower layers of volcanic material covering them (approx. 5-6 metres). Thus, topographical knowledge of Herculaneum remained vague, and a small number of drawings were published only in the second half of the 19th century. Despite this, a few documented buildings influenced the taste of the period in an extraordinary manner, shaping eighteenth century European architectural and figurative culture. The monograph of the [[Theatre of Herculaneum]] is still emblematic; it was published in Rome in 1783 with drawings by [[Giambattista Piranesi|Giambattista]] and [[Francesco Piranesi]], and constituted the first published graphic documentation of a building in Herculaneum.
-The Publication of Le Antichità di Ercolano Esposte
-From 1750 onwards, Bernardo Tanucci undertook the royal research in Naples, with great passion. He loyally continued the research even after the king departed for Spain. Tanucci, born in Tuscany, was an experienced connoisseur of [[classical culture]], and was the president of the Accademia Etrusca of Cortona founded by Marcello Venuti. Aa scholar of economy and law and teacher at the University of Pisa, he was nominated by Carlo of Bourbon for the position of Minister of the Justice in 1752, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Royal House in 1754 [4]. The discoveries of Herculaneum attained great fame thanks to the politics of Carlo of Bourbon, assisted by Tanucci.
-In fact, the fortuitous discovery of Herculaneum was soon incorporated into the ambitious project of forming the new Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, in order to bring the capital, Naples, to the forefront of the European cultural scene [5]. The king, advised by the minister Tanucci, was determined to complete the internationally prestigious excavation. He therefore kept a very jealous eye on the proceedings and very rarely authorised visits to see the antiquities. Fearing that others would take the credit for publishing exceptional finds, he also opposed every request to reproduce the work [6]. Naturally, attempts at theft were harshly repressed. For example, there are reports referring to five pilferers of Resina, three men and two women, who were accused of stealing several objects of minor importance: the men were sentenced to lashing in public and to imprisonment, and the women were condemned to exile for three years.
-Because of these restrictions, knowledge of the ancient city of Herculaneum remained vague. Visitors were forbidden to draw anything that was exposed in the site: for example, [[Goethe]] and [[Tischbein]] could not get permission to make a drawing in situ, and the French architect [[Jérôme-Charles Bellicard]], after a visit to the ruins in 1749-1750, was forced to reconstruct from memory the plan of the Theatre and the so-called Basilica. It was only after 1775 that visitors were allowed to draw the ruins, although a guard's surveillance was required at all times. Publication of the finds remained the king's privilege, but eventually the official silence gave way to the leaking of news which was often inaccurate or fabricated. For instance, it was claimed that a golden statue of Jupiter had been found, yet the small number of visitors admitted to the Museum of Portici did not see this piece exhibited. Another time, it was rumoured that an entire war trireme with all elements of iron and bronze had been discovered.
-It was obvious that the king could not rely on efficient organization since in 1748, 10 years after the commencement of the excavation, the work of engravings had only just begun. A small collection of letters and reports by various authors regarding the discoveries was published at long last in Venice in 1747, anonymously. The king had been unable to prevent it, and it was from this point that scholars began to believe that they were free from his surveillance.
-The first volumes on the subject of Herculaneum were printed in the next few years in various parts of Europe: News of the memorable discovery of the ancient city of Herculaneum near Naples ([[Notizie del memorabile scoprimento dell'antica città di Ercolano vicina a Napoli]]) by [[Anton Francesco Gori]] was published by the Royal Printing House in Florence in 1748; Description of the first discoveries of the ancient city of Herculaneum found near Portici (Descrizione delle prime scoperte dell'antica città di Ercolano ritrovata vicino a Portici) by [[Marcello Venuti]] was published by [[Lorenzo Baseggio]] in Venice in 1749; Memoirs concerning Herculaneum, the subterranean city, lately discovered at the foot of Mount Vesuvius by [[William Fordyce]], was published by Wilson in London in 1750; Letters on the pictures of Herculaneum (Lettres sur les peintures d'Herculaneum) and Observations (Observations), both by [[Charles Nicolas Cochin]], were published by Jombert in Paris, respectively in 1751 and 1754; and Collection of Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek and Roman Antiquities (Recueil d'antiquités égyptiennes, étrusques, grecques et romaines) by [[Anne Claude Philippe, count of Caylus]], was published in Paris between 1752 and 1767 [7].
-The discoveries were enormously important, particularly because Herculaneum yielded the first significant finds outside Rome. However, after the initial burst of enthusiasm, the Bourbonian court had to face harsh criticism, especially regarding the group of experts in charge of the excavation. On the one hand, trusting in the experience of [[Alcubierre]], a mining and military engineer, ensured some positive results; on the other hand, the idea of considering the excavation a purely technical operation, without a deep understanding of antiquarian culture, could turn out to be counterproductive. Being in the hands of excellent engineers who nevertheless knew little about classical antiquity, the excavation ran the risk of becoming subject to continuous looting, despite the presence of antiquarian experts like Weber and La Vaga. The opinion of Winckelmann, who thought that the engineer Alcubierre had as much relationship with archaeology as the moon with shrimp, was well-known [8].
-In addition, the exclusion of members of the international scientific community from the excavation and the Museum of Herculaneum evoked a general disappointment which became associated with the antiquarian inexperience of the group working at Herculaneum. For instance, [[Horace Walpole]], son of the British Prime Minister, well-read and a dilettante architect, noted on the way to Naples in 1740 that although he recognised the value of the discoveries of Herculaneum, he thought that "a sensible selection was not done with regard to the directors of the excavation"[9] . Apparently, neither the king nor Tanucci had overestimated the talents of their selectees in the first phase. But the waning of interest in the finds on the one hand and criticism of the management as well as the emergence of unauthorised publications on the other hand prompted the king to conceptualise and then create the Accademia Ercolanese (Herculaneum Academy) [10].
-On the thirteenth of December 1755, with the royal rescript signed by Bernardo Tanucci, the Accademia Ercolanese was founded, modelled on the Accademia Etrusca of Cortona. The Accademia Ercolanese was composed of fifteen members and had the task of illustrating and publishing the ancient objects recovered from the city buried by the eruption of 79 AD, as well as reading and interpreting the texts recovered from the [[Villa of Pisoni]] [11]. The fifteen members of the Accademia were: Msgr. Ottavio Antonio Bayardi (1695-after 1759); the ecclesiastic philologist Alessio Simmaco Mazzocchi (1684-1771); jurists Giacomo Castelli (?-1759), Salvatore Aula (1718-1782), Pasquale Carcani (1721-1783), and Gerolamo Giordano (1715-1784); the economist and prolific writer Ferdinando Galiano (1728-1787); the coin and incised jewels collector Francesco Enrico Crasso or Grassi, count of Pianura (1685-1762); the archaeologist and historian Francesco Maria Pratilli (1689-1763); the teacher Nicola Ignarra (1728-1808); the abbot and numismatist Mattia Zarrilli (1729-1804); the director of the Royal Printing House, Father Giovanni Maria della Torre (1710-1785); Father Tarugio Tarugi (1732-1778); the erudite jurisconsult Francesco Valletta (1680-1760), who, although already 75 years of age and of feeble health, was elected to the office of secretary; and the baron Domenico Ronchi (1700-1786). Two members of the Accademia eventually passed away and were replaced by the marquis Bernardo Galiani (1724-?) and Giovanni Battista Basso-Bassi (?-1796) [12]. Also, Paderini, keeper of the Royal Museum, though not included in the list of the fifteen chosen persons, was called into academic meetings to clarify illustrated monuments. Tanucci was President until 1777, while Mazzocchi [13] was in charge of the delicate deciphering of the papyri discovered between October 1752 and August 1754 in the Villa of Pisoni, assisted by Piarist Father Antonio Piaggio [14]. The authority to take leadership of the Accademia was identified in the erudite canon Ottavio Antonio Bayardi (1694-1764), a descendant of a noble family of Parma and a member of diverse Italian and foreign academies,a person trusted by Farnesi of Parma and Pope Clement XII. He was called into Naples in 1746 on the recommendation Prime Minister Giovanni Fogliani of Aragona. The following year, the king entrusted him with the task and paid him 4000 ducats for the cataloguing and publication of the antiquities recovered from the excavation of the Vesuvian cities.
-The results of Bayardi's research appeared in 1752 in five volumes, entitled, with the author's intent, the ''[[Prodromes of the Antiquities of Herculaneum]]'' (i Prodromi delle Antichità di Ercolano). But although Bayardi had written as many as 2677 pages, he had not dealt with the antiquities. Commencing with the feats of Hercules, mythical founder of the city, he digressed in a dissertation of no scientific relevance. Obviously, this created a scandal, and Bayardi was obliged to leave the city. The Prodromes of the Antiquities of Herculaneum disgusted Tanucci and, according to Vanvitelli, the five volumes were sold off at last for just 10 ducats [15]. In Bayardi's defence, however, it must be noted that he had wanted to write about the Prodromes, but since the engraving of illustrations was still very much behind schedule, he had not been able to begin writing real commentary [16].
-In 1755, Msgr. Bayardi published the Catalogue of the Ancient Monuments disinterred from the discovered city of Herculaneum. Although more volumes had been foreseen, the first one turned out to be the last. It included descriptions of the following types of materials: pictures (pp. 1-140), sculptures (pp. 141-183), vases and ansae of metals (pp. 184-244), silver vases (pp. 244-265), earthen vases (pp. 266-293), tripods (pp. 293-295), lamps (pp. 295-315), candelabra (pp. 315-323) and others (pp. 323-447).
-The Accademia Ercolanese, whose main task was to superintend excavations and to study and publish their results, began its work immediately. Although lacking its own statues, the academic body met every other week until at least 1760, which was the year the second volume of the Antichità was published. In each meeting, descriptions of every figure or monument were read aloud, and each member had the right to add observations. The re-examined text was then passed to the secretary, who, respecting every opinion, drew up an overall summary. Quite soon, however, they realized how complicated this method was, and from 1760 on it was the secretary Carcani who was in charge of drawing up the text. Carcani executed the work on his own and published five volumes, the third to the seventh [17]. He also began the eighth volume, which was later completed by the abbot Basso-Bassi [18].
-Unfortunately, Carlo of Bourbon left Naples on the sixth of October 1759 to ascend the throne of Spain, and in the course of time, meetings took place increasingly rarely, until eventually they ceased entirely. On the fifteenth of April 1787, upon the proposal of the Minister Domenico Caracciolo, Ferdinando IV revived the Accademia, of which only four members had survived: F. Galiani, Ignarra, Zarrilli and Basso-Bassi.
-In 1757, just one year after the inauguration of the Royal Academy on the fifteenth of January 1756, the first publication by the members of the Accademia Ercolanese was completed. This was the first volume of Le Antichità di Ercolano Esposte, which they dedicated to the king [19].
-The volume, published by the Royal Printing House, was entitled Le pitture antiche di Ercolano e contorni, incise con qualche spiegazione. The proposed workload was monumental, with at least 40 volumes predicted, but it did not go beyond the eighth volume, which was published in 1792. The volumes of the Antichità di Ercolano were published in this order: four volumes devoted to pictures (1757, 1760, 1762, 1765), two to bronzes (busts 1767; statues 1771), another to pictures (1779), and much later, an eighth volume devoted to lamps and to candelabra (1792) [20].
-These magnificent publications involved notable expenses, especially for remunerating the engravers and designers. In total, the eight volumes consisted of 614 plates, to which were added 365 vignettes at the beginning and end of most chapters and two medallions with portraits of Carlo and Ferdinando IV of Bourbon, as well as beautiful figurative initials designed by Vanvitelli [21].
-The conception of the work as luxurious and prestigious editions appeared, however rather old-fashioned in certain respects. Circulation was extremely limited and they invariably ended up in the hands of royalty, aristocrats and courtiers, without reaching the intellectual circles of the bourgeoisie who could have made real use of them for their studies. Then, "economical" editions began to appear in various languages, in a reduced format and bearing beautiful shrunken, re-designed and re-engraved plates: in England in 1773, in Germany with the edition by Kilian and Murr in 1778, in France in 1780 and finally also in Italy, in the papal city Rome, with the volumes of Tiroli emerging in 1789.
-The engravers and designers of the Antichità di Ercolano and the School of Portici
-The credit for having founded, in Portici, one of the most important schools of engravers must be also ascribed to Carlo of Bourbon. The members of the school - more than fifty designers and engravers from various Italian and foreign states - were the craftsmen of the plates of the Antichità di Ercolano. It is not possible to trace back with precision the date when the school became active in the mid-eighteenth century. It is likely that between 1734 and 1735, or four years before the excavations of Herculaneum began, some engravers of the school were active in Naples. The necessity of publishing the finds quickly then increased the number of engravers.
-Amongst the designers and engravers, the most noteworthy were: Giuseppe Aloja, Nicola Billy, Domenico and Giovanni Casanova, Francesco Cepparuli, Pierre-Jacques Gaultier, Pedro and Francisco La Vega, Filippo and Giovanni Morghen, Carlo Nolli, Carlo Orazi, Camillo Paderni, Rocco Pozzi, Nicola Vanni and Luigi Vanvitelli [22].
-In addition to the editorial delay, the Antichità posed another difficulty for scholars: acquisition. The volumes were not put up for sale, but were offered as personal donations from members of the royal family or from high dignitaries [23]. However, their influence as cultural propaganda for the new kingdom was enormous. The iconographic motifs reached, indirectly, so large a public that the second volume of the work was put under guard to prevent counterfeiting based on previous plates.
-The reputation of the work was so exceptional that it even determined editorial trends. Hence the volumes of Thomas Martyn and John Lettice, who published in London in 1773 a reduction of the plates of the Antichità; also the edition by Silvain Maréchal (Paris 1781); the work of the engraver Tommaso Piroli, who began in 1789 a reduced edition in six volumes; and the edition by Pierre-François Hugues of Hancarville, who published the Etruscan, Greek and Roman Antiquities (Antiquités étrusques, grecques, et romaines) (Paris 1785-1788).
-The engravings of the Antichità di Ercolano even became a figurative inventory for contemporary decorators. This is testified by a letter from the abbot Galiani to Tanucci in 1767 regarding a proposal for the reprinting of the first volumes in French and in English. He stated the opinion that "...all the goldsmiths, the jewellers, painters of carriages and doorheads, paperhangers, ornamenters need this book ... They do not make bronzes, carvings, pictures any more, but they all copy from Herculaneum" [24].
-The typographical characters of the Antichità di Ercolano and the Royal Printing House
-Le Antichità di Ercolano demonstrated all characteristics of typographical arts of the eighteenth century. It displayed the sumptuousness of the bookbinding and the refinement of the incisions with the format of volumes in folio (52 x 38 cm) thatwas typical of illustrated scientific treatises or of celebrative volumes.
-Despite the king's departure to Spain in 1759, all dedications of the volumes were addressed to the sovereign. The frontispiece of the first volume, work of Francesco La Vega (designer) and Rocco Pozzi (engraver) was dedicated to Carlo of Bourbon. His portrait, an engraving by Morghen based on the design by Camillo Paderni, was presented as the frontispiece in all the volumes, although only the first volume was printed during his reign. Carlo III, though far away in Madrid, was also an inspiration to the work. The attitude the king assumed towards recovered objects was significant, as the anecdote of the ring recovered from Pompeii and subsequently worn by the king demonstrates. The king, when leaving for Spain, wanted to leave this ring in Naples since he regarded it the rightful property of the Museum of Herculaneum [25].
-Distinctive initials by Vanvitelli [26] and a series of extremely elegant and refined engraved heads, ends and plates revealed technological progress and the renovation of typographical arts, as well as the emergence of a new style. The beauty of the decoration was combined with the illustrative technique of engraving in copper, which was chosen to give finesse and more resistance to wear and tear. This technique, which involved etching with a burin, guaranteed a finer execution than wood carving, which was less hardy, subject to deformation under the pressure of typographical presses, and which was less precise. For drafting Le Antichità di Ercolano, 'roman' and 'minuscule cursive' characters were favoured since they produced letters that were regular and neat.
-These aspects make the edition of the Antichità one of the oldest testimonies of the Royal Printing House - a unique example of the literary, scientific and cultural progress of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies [27].
-Because of the strength of its highly specialized labour and the precious collaboration between the engravers of the School of Portici, the Bourbonian Printing House, created in 1748, started very soon to compete with other contemporary printing houses such as those of Parma and of Turin (1728). Its development, owing to a donation by the Neapolitan prince Raimondo of Sangro of Sansevero, led to the introduction of printing in more colours, using only one copperplate and one press. The foundry, directed by Francisco Anastares, came to produce a vast range of characters, press and papers of the highest quality, and which were commissioned even from the Netherlands and from Venice [28].
-Conclusion
-The Antichità di Ercolano esposte was a broad cultural enterprise, and not only in its conception. Despite the meagre number of volumes published compared to the original plan, it contributed to and determined the diffusion of a certain style and a decorative inventory in Europe. The extraordinary discovery of Herculaneum reinforced and characterized the auto-celebration of the new Bourbonian dynasty, allowing it to establish strong links with European courts [29]. "The impulse for archaeology, the formation of the neoclassical style in the eighteenth century, and particularly for the papyrology of Herculaneum, originated from King Carlo, in whom should therefore be identified the role of promoter of this papyrology and initiator of the studies of the antiquities of Herculaneum, model of artistic civilization in the eighteenth century" [30].
-The Bourbons thus became illuminated bearers of cultural interest, influencing the taste and style of the epoch. In fact, the discoveries of Herculaneum inspired all kinds of artistic forms: from the furnishings of palaces with pastiches of different archaeological furniture, to the making of tableware in porcelain by the Royal Factory of Ferdinando of Capodimonte. It was these porcelain products that became the most rapid means of popularisation of the motifs of Herculaneum. For instance, between 1781 and 1782, the "tableware of Herculaneum", which reproduced the engravings of the Antichità di Ercolano, was produced and donated to Carlo III [31].
-The excavations of Herculaneum and Pompeii, as well as the publication of papyri and the volumes Le Antichità di Ercolano esposte, pushed the Grand Tour, the "travel of education" of European notables, down to Naples, Herculaneum and Pompeii. Each of the visitors, according to their sensibility, brought back to their homeland impressions of the great Bourbonian discoveries, and contributed to the transmitting of the motifs of Herculaneum to European style at the end of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries [32].
 ==See also==
 *[[Discovery of Pompeii]]
 *[[Herculaneum]]
 *[[Villa of the Papyri]]
-*[[Doryphoros]]
 *[[1740s in archaeology]]
-*[[Italian Neoclassical and 19th century art]]
 *[[Neoclassicism]]
 *[[Pseudo-Seneca]]
 *[[Karl Jakob Weber]]
-*[[Seated Hermes]]
-*[[Chelys]]
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Le Antichità di Ercolano Esposte

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