
Artwork Information
The fields around Rome were littered with fragments of ancient ruins, and it was not uncommon for farmers to break through the roof of a buried tomb when ploughing their fields. At the time, collectors queued up to purchase the items removed after such a find, carrying off bronze and earthenware, as well as architectural fragments, before all that remained was destroyed by renewed cultivation. Rather than mere curiosity, Piranesi had a genuine antiquarian desire to record some of the main tombs before they vanished forever.
- Title
- Antique ancient altar with surrounding ruins
- Production Date
- circa 1743
- Medium
- etching, four states with burin work
- Dimensions
- 270 x 375 mm
- Credit Line
- Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
- Accession No
- U/169
- Copyright
- No known copyright restrictions
- Department
- International Art
- Display Status
- Not on display
More by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (108)

Frontispiece
circa 1943

Vestibolo d'antico Tempio ... (Vestibule of an ancient temple)
circa 1743

Foro antico Romano circondato da portici, con logge, alcune delle quali si uniscono al Palazzo Imperiale ed altre alle Carceri (Ancient Roman Forum surrounded by porticoes, with loggias, some of which communicate with the Imperial Palace and others with
circa 1743

Mausoleo antico cretto per le ceneri d'un Imperadore Romano ... (Ancient Mausoleum erected for the ashes of a Roman Emperor)
circa 1743
Explore Connections (11)

Architecture
308 Artworks

Ruins
171 Artworks

Classicism
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Destruction
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Empires
88 Artworks