HITTORF, Jacques-Ignace (1792-1867) & Karl Ludwig Wilhelm von ZANTH (1796-1857) - Architecture antique de la Sicile. Recueil de monuments de Ségeste et de Sélinonte. Paris: E. Donnaud, 1870.   An edition rare on the market which includes views, reconstructions, plans, and elevations, cross-sections, and details of pediments of the monuments of Segesta and Selinunte. The German archaeologist Hittorff visited Sicily from September 1823 to February 1824, traveling in the company of his student Karl-Ludwig von Zanth. The two collaborated with local draftsmen, amateur archaeologists, and laborers, examining the civic and religious remains of ancient Taormina, Catania, Syracuse, Agrigento, Selinunte (where they discovered the 'Temple of Empedocles'), and Segesta. From the gathered data, Hittorff developed general theories on the origin, nature, and symbolism not only of Greek architecture but also, and notably, on the use of painting as a decorative medium in antiquity.   Atlas volume only, folio (650 x 445mm). Half-title, 89 engraved plates, some handcoloured (some marginal tears, some foxing, browning, and soiling). Spine in percaline, contemporary boards, gilt titles on spine (some stains and wear).

Estimate € 3,000 - 5,000

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