2017-02-16 Thu

On 29th November 2016, a Sotheby’s Music and Continental Books and Manuscripts London auction sold a 1645 numismatic book of Icones imperatorum romanorum with lovely medallic woodblock prints of old rulers for almost $1,250.

The book contains 144 large woodcut chiaroscuro medallion portraits of important rulers from Julius Caesar to Ferdinand III. The title page has given credits to Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens. The book was actually published in Bruges, Belgium, in 1557 with engravings by Hubert Goltzius. The 1645 printing has many more portraits with many blank medallion forms.

The book had an estimate of £1,000 to £1,500 and was bought by a European noble family. Another finer example with an estimate of 3,000 was offered but could not reach the estimated value.