Meretseger Books

Obeliscus Pamphilius. Hoc est, interpretatio nova et hucusque intentata obelisci hieroglyphici quem no ita pridem ex veteri Hippodromo Antonini Caracallae Caesaris, in Agonale Forum transtulit, integritati restituit, & in Urbis Aeternae ornamentum erexit Innocentius X Pont. Max. in quo post varia Aegyptiacae, Chaldaicae, Hebraicae, Graecanicae Antiquitatis, doctrinaeque qua sacrae, qua profanae monumenta, veterum tandem Theologia, hieroglyphicis involuta symbolis, detecta e tenebris in lucern asseritur.

KIRCHER Athanasius

Item #M4849

Extremely rare first edition. Ludovico Grignano, Roma, 1650. Folio, 320x215 mm. Full stiff vellum binding, label with gilt tilte on the spine; leaves [32, including title page], pp. 560 [i.e. 558], leaves [30], mistakes in numeration. Coat of arms of Pope Innocenzo X on title page, woodcut Initials, Head and Tail-pieces; Latin, Jewish, Arabic, Greek type, Errata on penultimate leaf, Printer's device on the recto of last leaf, verso bl. Lots of illustrations of various sizes imprinted in woodcut in the text, of which two full-page. 5 full-page plates engraved within the text. Allegorical frontispiece, Portrait of Pope Innocent X, a plate on folded leaf, unfolded dimensions 74 x 44 cm, all engraved copper out of the text. On the Title page, Owner’s signature with date 1674. Some minor foxing, small tear to the leaf 21 nn and antique restoration on leaf 32 n.n., signs of dampstain on some pages. In this work Kircher aims to decipher the hieroglyphic inscriptions on the obelisk around which would be built the Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona. For the Jesuit, the hieroglyph is the most appropriate way to talk about the mysteries of Religion. The iconography is impressive: numerous woodcuts of hieroglyphic texts, reproducing those engraved on the obelisk; the allegorical frontispiece drawn by the distinguished painter Giovanni Angelo Canini is engraved by the master printmaker Cornelis Bloemaert. The folded plate illustrates the four faces of the obelisk separately; in the center, the obelisk in its entirety, the Pope's coat of arms, a medal with the portrait of Innocent X on one side and a view of the square with the obelisk on the other. Cicognara 2526; Brunet III, 668; Bibliotheca Esoterica 2388; Caillet 5787; NUC v. 297 p. 458. Language: Latin. Relevant subjects: Egypt: Travelers & Egyptologists, Language, Texts & Writing.

Language: Latin.

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