Bidspirit auction | MAIURI (Amedeo). LA VILLA dei

MAIURI (Amedeo). LA VILLA dei Misteri. Roma. 1931. - MAIURI (Amedeo) LA VILLA dei Misteri . Roma: La Libreria dello Stato, 1931. 1 pasta: 1 planta desdobrável, 18 est.: il.; 490 mm. This volume of prints is part of the first edition of the monograph on the Villa dei Misteri of Pompeii, one of the most sumptuous archaeological publications produced in Italy in the 20th century. The complete edition, in two volumes, was printed in 500 numbered copies on Fabriano Nippon paper and bound in full parchment with gilt titles, in separate rigid cardboard cases. This volume of prints includes 18 four-color plates, each with passe-partout, and a fold-out plan of the villa. Amedeo Maiuri (Rome, 1886 - Naples, 1963), Superintendent of Antiquities of Campania from 1924 to 1961, directed the excavations that allowed the complete discovery of the suburban villa, begun in 1909 and resumed in 1929-1930 with the financial support of the Bank of Naples. The Villa dei Misteri, located next to the Porta Herculaneum in Pompeii, is the noblest of the city's private architectural monuments: its importance rests above all on the famous megagraphic frieze of the triclinium, 29 life-size figures executed in the second Roman style and dated to c. 60-50 BC, which represents an initiation ceremony, probably in the Dionysian Mysteries. The frieze is unanimously considered one of the masterpieces of ancient painting, unique for its size, the quality of the drawing and the preservation of color. The 1931 publication constitutes the first and still fundamental scientific study of the monument, carried out by the archaeologist who excavated and documented it. Rare and prized. ⚑ Auto-translated via Google Translate