Radnorshire Fine Arts Ltd

Description

Collection of Etruscan, Greek and Roman Antiquities Five Plates.
Sir William Hamilton (1730-1803) and Pierre F.Hugues d'Hancarville (1719-1805).
Etchings with hand colouring, on laid papers, with margins, all in very good condition.
Published Naples by Francesco Morelli, 1766-1767].
Each print framed and glazed.
Sir William Hamilton was the British ambassador to Naples during the city's golden age, from 1764 to 188. An avid antiquarian, Hamilton assembled one of the world's finest collections of Greek and Roman antiquities. The core of his collection was bought en bloc from the Porcinari family, after an introduction by Hugues d'Hancarville, an amateur art dealer. Hamilton added several more choice items before selling the entire collection to the British Museum in 1772 for £8400, where it became one of the main collections in the department of Greek and Roman antiquities. However, before the collection was shipped to England, Hamilton arranged for Hugues d'Hancarville to oversee the cataloguing and drawing of every item. The published work appeared in 1766-1767 and is a triumphant example of graphic art of the highest order.