HISTORY] - Lot 10

HISTORY] A Collection of Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek, and Roman Antiquities, Paris, Desaint and Saillant, 1752 CAYLUS (Anne-Claude de)]. Two volumes in full calfskin (bearing the coat of arms of Pierre Crozat), ribbed spine decorated with I: frontispiece, half-title page, title page, (4) pages, XXI, (1), 348 pages, (2) pages, 107 plates, and II: frontispiece, title page, VIII, 429 pages, 128 plates (numbered 126 but 58* and 58**), (3) First edition of the first two volumes of the highly significant work by the Count of Caylus (1692–1765), a great art lover and founder of modern archaeology. The complete work consists of 7 volumes and is conceived as a museum on paper: Caylus studies, interprets, and classifies objects, comparing them with others. In doing so, he lays the scientific foundations for the modern discipline of archaeology. The work bears the coat of arms of Pierre Crozat (1665–1740), a financier and collector of French art, at whose residence Caylus stayed upon his return from Italy—and through whom he met numerous artists. Bindings are scuffed, with a minor defect on the spine of Volume 1. Corners are worn.