Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Diverse Maniere d'Adornare i Cammini, ed Ogni Altra Parte degli Edifizi = Divers Manners of Ornamenting Chimneys, and All Other Parts of Houses = Differentes manières d'orner les chiminèes, et tou autre partie des edifices. Rome: Generoso Salomoni, 1769.
Trained as an architect and draftsman, Piranesi later studied etching and composition before establishing himself in Rome as an engraver and publisher. He was internationally esteemed for his etchings of the scenery and ruins of classical Rome. For the monumental work on decorative arts and architecture shown here, the polyglot title and preface (printed in Italian, English and French) suggest the international audience that Piranesi intended to reach, and Diverse Maniere d'Adornare i Cammini proved to be highly influential throughout Europe in establishing neo-classical styles of architecture and design based on an eclectic study of antiquity. The book illustrates over 100 separate items of furniture and decorative objects, including candlesticks, clocks, vases and vessels, sedan chairs, as well as dozens of chimneypiece designs.
Gift: Susan Dwight Bliss.