Nieupoort - Rituum ... Romanos - 1802

Secret Rituals of Rome, Between Civil Priesthood and the Archaeology of Power
This Leidense edition of 1802 of the famous Rituum by G.H. Nieupoort represents one of the high points of late‑Enlightenment antiquarian handbooks devoted to Roman religion. Born as a teaching tool and quickly becoming a reference repertoire, the volume combines philological rigor, systematic clarity, and a very rich iconographic component. The edition edited by C.F. Nagel, expanded and corrected, integrates the animadversiones of Reitzius and Schwarz, offering a layered and critical view of the civil and sacred rites of ancient Rome, read as symbolic infrastructure of power and public life.
Market value
In the international antiquarian market, complete specimens of this 1802 edition in contemporaneous decorated binding generally fetch a price between 500 and 800 euros; the presence of the engraved title page and the folding plates significantly affects the valuation.

Physical description and condition
Contemporary binding in full stiff parchment, boards decorated in gold with the coat of arms of the city of Dordrecht, spine with the title on a label and gilded ornaments. Frontispiece engraved, 10 folded plates and one plate not included in the text. Pages with some browning and foxing. In old books, with a centuries-long history, occasional imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 2nn; 8; 614; 2nn; (4).

Full title and author
A concise explanation of the rites that once prevailed among the Romans.
Leiden, at S. and J. Luchtmans, 1802.
Gerardus H. Nieupoort.

Context and Significance
Nieupoort's work is rooted in the great Dutch antiquarian tradition, which between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries made the reconstruction of Roman rites an exercise in understanding civilization through its symbolic practices. The text analyzes in a systematic form sacrifices, public ceremonies, festivals, priestly colleges, and domestic rituals, showing how ritual was a foundational element of the Roman political and social order. The annotations of Reitzius and Schwarz, integrated into the Nagel edition, introduce an additional critical level, comparing literary, epigraphic, and iconographic sources. The engraved plates are not merely illustrative apparatus, but true interpretive tools, useful for visualizing gestures, objects, and ritual spaces, in an almost archaeological ante litteram perspective.

Biography of the Author
Gerardus H. Nieupoort (circa 1666–1733) was a Dutch jurist and antiquarian, best known for his studies of the institutions and rituals of ancient Rome. His works, initially conceived for university teaching, achieved wide diffusion in Europe thanks to their clarity of exposition and the methodical use of classical sources, becoming reference texts for generations of scholars.

Printing history and circulation
Il Rituum underwent numerous reprints and expansions between the late 17th and the early 19th century. The 1802 edition, published by Luchtmans of Leiden, represents one of the most complete and mature, the fruit of a long academic editorial tradition. Printed in a high-caliber university milieu, it was intended for educated students, scholars, and collectors, and circulated widely in the Netherlands and Northern Europe.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Cicero, On the Laws; Varro, On the Latin Language; Ovid, Fasti; Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyclopaedia of the Classical Antiquities; Spoelder, Armorial Bindings of the Netherlands, Dordrecht 2; ICCU/OPAC SBN catalogs; WorldCat.