Collection Of Etruscan, Greek And Roman Antiquities From The Cabinet Of The Honble. Wm. Hamilton

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The publication Collection Of Etruscan, Greek And Roman Antiquities From The Cabinet Of The Honble. Wm. Hamilton is considered one of the groundbreaking publications in the field of classical archeology . Under the direction of the art historian and antiquarian Pierre-François Hugues d'Hancarville , the collection of the collector William Hamilton, consisting mainly of ancient Greek vases , became known from 1767.

Illustration from the Collection Of Etruscan, Greek And Roman Antiquities .

As the British envoy to the Kingdom of Naples, William Hamilton had amassed an important collection of ancient antiquities, especially painted Greek vases. In 1765 he entrusted d'Hancarville, who at that time was in massive financial difficulties due to his lifestyle, with the publication of his collection. The first two volumes appeared in Naples in 1767 and 1770 without any problems (not as stated in the publications themselves in 1766 and 1767). Then d'Hancarville had to flee Naples because of his creditors. In doing so, he took pictures that had already been made for volumes three and four, which he had to pawn in Florence . Hamilton had to trigger it there again. Due to the problems, the third and fourth volumes did not appear until 1776. In 1785, d'Hancarville, now living in Paris , obtained a modified new edition in the French capital with drawings by François Anne David . Another new edition was published in Florence from 1801 to 1808.

With the publication, d'Hancarville broke new ground. From the second volume onwards, he also included pieces from other collections, while the third and fourth volumes also show other pieces, especially gems and statues . The vases were shown according to technical aspects: profile drawings were made and unrolled images were shown. They were also shown from different perspectives. Basically, the work was in the tradition of older works such as that of Bernard de Montfaucon , Anne-Claude-Philippe, Comte de Caylus or Giovanni Battista Passeri , but for the first time reproduced images that were so accurate that the style of the works could also be assessed. Methodically, the work is based on Johann Joachim Winckelmann , who was the first to recognize the importance of vases for art history. Originally it was planned that he should contribute texts, which was no longer possible due to his early death. At times, d'Hancarville employed 15 draftsmen and engravers who worked on the pictures, d'Hancarville provided the texts, which, however, had no great effect and are controversial in their assessment.

The work is of particular importance for the modern reception of antiquities to this day . A real wave of the use of antique or antique motifs was initiated, which took hold of large parts of art but also of handicrafts. Josiah Wedgwood often used the motifs for his Wedgwoodware , but other ceramic manufacturers also used the ancient models. In addition, the work had an influence on the design of furniture, especially the inlays , fabrics and wall decorations. Another side effect was the sharp rise in prices for antique vases.

In 1772 Hamilton sold his first collection of vases and started a second, which was later published by Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein and his pupils.

expenditure

  • Collection of Etruscan, Greek, and Roman antiquities from the cabinet of the Honble. Wm. Hamilton. = Antiquités etrusques, grecques et romaines. Tirees du Cabinet de M. Hamilton. Imprimé par François Morelli, Naples, 1766–1767 (vol. 1, 1766 [printed 1767], digitized , vol. 2, 1767 [1770], digitized , vol. 3, 1767 [1776], digitized , vol. 4, 1767 [1776], digitized version ).
  • Antiquités etrusques, grecques et romaines gravées par FA David. Avec leurs explications par d'Hancarville. Paris 1785–1787 (Vol. 1, 1785 digitized , Vol. 2, 1785 digitized , Vol. 3, 1787 digitized , Vol. 4, 1787 digitized ).
  • Antiquités etrusques, grecques et romaines tirées du cabinet de M. Hamilton envoyé extraordinaire de SM Britannique à la court de Naples. Florence 1801-1808 (Vol. 1, 1801 digitized , Vol. 2, 1801 digitized , Vol. 3, 1806 digitized , Vol. 4, 1808 digitized ).

literature

  • Pascal Griener: La antichità etrusche, greche e romane 1766–1776 by Pierre Hugues d'Hancarville. La pubblicazione delle ceramiche antiche della prima collezione Hamilton. Edizioni dell'Elefante, Rome 1992, ISBN 88-7176-011-5 .
  • Petra Lamers-Schütze (Ed.), Sebastian Schütze, Madeleine Gisler-Huwiler (Text): The collection of antiquities from the cabinet of Sir William Hamilton = Collection des antiquités du cabinet de Sir William Hamilton = The collection of antiquities from the cabinet of Sir William Hamilton. Taschen, Köln et al. 2004, ISBN 3-8228-2195-0 (reprint of the tables of the work from 1766/1767 based on the copy from the Anna Amalia Library Weimar, without the original text, with commentary in three languages; review by Hildegard Wiegel in sehepunkte . 5, No. 6, 2005, ISSN  1618-6168 ).
  • Martin Bentz : Hugues d'Hancarville, Pierre-François. In: Peter Kuhlmann , Helmuth Schneider (Hrsg.): History of the ancient sciences. Biographical Lexicon (= The New Pauly . Supplements. Volume 6). Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2012, ISBN 978-3-476-02033-8 , Sp. 596-598.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ On the publication history of Griener, pp. 49–57. In 2004 Taschen Verlag published a 550-page, large-format new edition of the panels of the work.
  2. ↑ Collection Of Engravings From Ancient Vases (Mostly) Of (Pure) Greek Workmanship. Discoverd In Sepulchres In The Kingdom Of The Two Sicilies But Chiefly In The Neighborhood Of Naples During The Course Of The Years MDCCLXXXIX. And MDCCLXXXX. Now In The Possession Of Sir Wm. Hamilton His Britannic Maiestaty's Envoy Extry. And Plenipotentiary At The Court Of Naples. With Remarks On Each Vase By The Collector. Published by Mr. Wm. Tischbein Director Of The Royal Academy Of Painting At Naples. Naples 1791–1795 digitized .