Porcacchi - Funerali Antichi - 1591

PORCACCHI AND THE IMAGINARY OF DEATH: THE Book of Lost Rites
The plates by Girolamo Porro, one of the era’s most active engravers, contributed to the iconic fortune of the work, making it a reference point for the representation of funeral rites in modern Europe.
A work of extraordinary symbolic and antique charm, the Ancient Funerals of various Peoples, and Nations by Tommaso Porcacchi configures itself as a true compendium of rites of passage between life and death in the ancient world. More than a simple erudite repertoire, the volume builds an initiatory map of funeral ceremonies, in which burial becomes an act of transformation and the memory of the deceased is inscribed in a ritual and cosmic dimension. Girolamo Porro’s engravings translate into images this symbolic universe: catafalques, urns, processions and monuments take the form of visual devices through which the world of the living dialogues with that of the dead. The work reflects Renaissance sensitivity to the mysteries of antiquity, interpreted not only as objects of study, but as keys to access a deeper knowledge of the cycle of life.
MARKET VALUE
Complete and well-preserved copies generally range between 1,500 and 2,500 euros; copies with fresh engravings and high-quality bindings can command higher values.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Later binding in full parchment with spine thongs. Frontispiece within an allegorical cartouche engraved. Numerous copper plates in the text engraved by Girolamo Porro.
Some physiological browning. A copy overall well preserved, with signs of use compatible with the illustrated and antique nature of the volume.
In old books, with a history spanning centuries, there may be some imperfections not always noted in the description.
Collation: pp. (2); 8 preliminary leaves; 96; (4).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Funerali antichi di diversi Popoli, et Nationi; Forma, Ordine, et Pompa di Sepolture, di esequie, di consecrazioni antiche et d'altro. Venetiæ, Appresso gli Heredi di Simon Galignani, 1591. Tommaso Porcacchi.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
In the heart of the Venetian Renaissance, the rediscovery of antiquity intertwines with a growing fascination for the rituals and symbols of past civilizations. Funerals, far from being mere social practices, are interpreted as liminal moments, codified passages between the visible and the invisible.
Porcacchi builds a repertoire that is simultaneously historical and symbolic: through the description of funeral practices of different peoples, he offers a comparative vision of the ways humanity has confronted the mystery of death. In this sense, the book approaches a true “archaeology of the sacred,” where every rite carries hidden meanings and universal structures.
The engravings by Girolamo Porro amplify this dimension: the depiction of processions, urns and monuments is not only descriptive but laden with symbolic value. The catafalque becomes an axis of the cosmos, the procession a ritual transition, the tomb a place of transformation. The volume thus configures itself as a bridge between antiquarian erudition and Renaissance proto-esoteric sensibility.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Tommaso Porcacchi (1530–1585), a Venetian scholar, was the author of works ranging from geography to antiquarian studies. His production reflects the humanistic interest in classifying and understanding the world, both seen and unseen. Through works such as The Most Famous Islands of the World and the Ancient Funerals, he contributed to the construction of an encyclopedic knowledge that united description, interpretation and symbolic imagination.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The 1591 edition, printed in Venice by the heirs of Simon Galignani, sits within the lagoon tradition of illustrated antiquarian texts. Venice, crossroads of knowledge and images, fostered the diffusion of works in which text and illustration collaborate in constructing meaning.
The plates by Girolamo Porro, one of the period’s most active engravers, contributed to the artwork’s iconographic fortune, making it a reference point for the representation of funeral rites in modern Europe.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
EDIT16 – CNCE 29767.
ICCU/OPAC SBN, record of the Venice edition, Galignani, 1591.
Mortimer, Ruth, Harvard Italian 16th Century Books, Cambridge (MA), 1974, pp. 400–402 (illustrated Venetian editions).
Hind, Arthur M., An Introduction to a History of Woodcut, London, 1935, vol. II, pp. 512–515 (context of Renaissance illustration).
Panofsky, Erwin, Tomb Sculpture: Four Lectures on Its Changing Aspects from Ancient Egypt to Bernini, New York, 1964, pp. 45–78.
Gombrich, Ernst H., The Sense of Order, London, 1979, pp. 210–225 (symbolism and ritual representation).