Ovid - Ovidii Metamorphoseos - 1516

OVID – Magnificent Post-inked Imago of Ovid’s Metamorphoses – LYON 1516

17 Woodcuts

Rare Lyonese edition of Ovid’s Metamorphoses with the medieval-humanist commentary by Lactantius Placidi. Printed in 1516 by Jacques Huguetan (Jacques Myt), in-4°, two-color in red and black with a broad decorative border and large title woodcut, bound in an old flexible parchment binding.

The text presents Ovid’s fifteen books of the “Metamorphoses,” the great collection of antique myths of gods and humans, whose common thread is transformation: tales of gods, heroes, nymphs, and mortals who are changed into animals, plants, stars, or stones. Included are the well-known myths of Daphne and Apollo, Pyramus and Thisbe, Narcissus, Orpheus and Eurydice, Io, Phaethon, Perseus and Andromeda, as well as countless other stories that have shaped European poetry and art up to the modern era. The accompanying commentary moralizes these tales in the spirit of the time and interprets the pagan myths allegorically—for example as examples of virtue and vice or as symbols of Christian truths—a typical testament to the humanist reading of ancient texts around 1500.

The work is complete and contains a total of 17 woodcuts:

- 1 large title vignette depicting Ovid presenting his work to the emperor

- 1 famous scheme of the world as a globe with five climes (torrid, two polar, two temperate zones)

- 15 large woodcuts in the text, traditionally attributed to Guillaume II. Leroy, which were reused in several Lyonese editions of Ovid from the 1510s/20s.

Condition: Internally overall well-preserved for its age, clear typography, beautiful and high-contrast woodcuts; usual signs of wear, occasional spots, marginal defects and small notes possible. The old parchment binding is firm but worn, with losses and cracks at corners, edges, and capitals, discolorations and minor damage—please refer to the photos for an exact condition assessment. Unrestored, a very authentic library copy.

A significant and sought-after Lyonese edition of the Ovid Metamorphoses, which not only stands out for its early printing date and the quality woodcuts, but also for the characteristic humanist commentary, making it an important document of the reception of ancient mythology in the Renaissance. Rare on the market – no reserve price.