Origine della lira, Strumenti Egizij, Vaso, Aratro antico, Tripode | Prototype of lyre, Egyptian instruments, Vase, Antique colter, Trivet

Lorenzo Roccheggiani's reproduction engraving depicts six antique articles of craftsmanship of diverse use. On the left, a tripod of Apollo reproduced from an image found in a tomb chamber discovered in 1795 near the temple of Tosse, a Roman building standing on via Tiburtina in Tivoli. The legs of the vase-shaped vessel are entwined by serpents, and the Pythia sits on the edge with a staff resting on her shoulder, responding to an invisible Apollo. Next to it lies a colter from villa de Albani leaning against a platform on which stands a metal libation jug from Count Clementini's collection. The neck of the vessel features a relief with a scene of a procession honouring Bacchus, and the belly shows a sea monster floating on the waves. A simple harp model and a round cymbal found in Egypt are mounted to the front wall of the platform. To the right of the board sits a lyre made of tortoiseshell with arms in the shape of twisted goat's horns, the base of which is a swan holding a resonator between its upraised wings. The instrument was owned by the papal sculptor Giovanni Pierantoni. The featured board 73 has come from the album Raccolta di 100 tavole reppresentanti i costumi religiosi, civili a militari degli antichi..., published in Rome in 1804, comprising of one hundred boards presenting religious, secular and military costumes and ancient objects from the area of Egypt, Etruria, Greece and Rome. The illustrator of the album, Lorenzo Roccheggiani, worked as an engraver and illustrator between 1804 and 1817. He was the author of several series of prints published in Rome and Milan, focused on ancient monuments, costumes, furniture and ornamental motifs. Ewa Gwiazdowska