Presented in faux marble and parchment faux books, each spine marked Paoletti Impronte, each double sided, containing numbered plaster cameos with a handwritten description of each.

Comprising:

Four volumes of Uomini Illustri

10 1/4 x 6 1/2 in.

Note: Creating casts from engraved gems or cameos was a common practice in ancient times, and was particularly popular among Roman connoisseurs in the 18th century. When such plaster casts became sought-after souvenirs for Grand Tour travelers, several shops opened which specialized in them. These souvenir casts not only represented carved gems, but also contemporary and ancient sculptures and monuments. They were often mounted in faux book bindings, as in the present offered five lots. The Scotsmen James and William Tassie were among the most prolific casters, as were Bartolomeo Paoletti (1757-1834) and his son Pietro (1801-1847).

The Paoletti firm advertised themselves in Count Hawks Le Grice's Guide, Walks through the Studii of the Sculptors at Rome, (1841), as follows: Paoletti begs to inform the public that he has arranged a collection of impressions (Impronte in Scajola), of many of the works in sculpture executed by distinguished artists....Although the Impromte are but miniature copies; yet they exhibit all the fidelity and beauty of the original, and convey to the eye a better idea of sculpture works of art than the most finished engravings.

The Paolettis, whose studio was centrally located on the Piazza di Spagna in Rome until 1847, enjoyed a stellar reputation, and counted among their clients Catherine the Great of Russia, and Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. The firm continued to do business after the death of Pietro until at least 1865. Examples of Paoletti's casts are conserved in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, The Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut and The Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey.