[Royal Bindings] - Bayardi - Antichità d’Ercolano - 1752

ROYAL BINDINGS – CINQUE VOLUMI ALLE ARMI DI CARLO DI BORBONE: IL TESORO DI ERCOLANO
A monumental work born by the will of the Bourbon monarchy, dedicated to the sovereign who promoted the excavations at Herculaneum, directly from his library.
Five imposing eighteenth-century volumes in prestigious Neapolitan bindings of the period, gilded with the sovereign’s arms, Carlo di Borbone, future king of Spain.
Over 2,700 pages, eleven engraved plates and numerous illustrations recount the first great season of the Vesuvian archaeological discoveries.
Printed by the Regale Stamperia Palatina of Naples, established to celebrate and disseminate the antiquities brought to light.
An important testimony of European antiquarian culture and royal patronage in the Age of Enlightenment.

ABSTRACT
The Prodrome of the Antiquities of Herculaneum by Ottavio Antonio Bayardi represents one of the first major editorial undertakings devoted to Vesuvian archaeological discoveries. Published in Naples in five volumes between 1752 and 1756, it was conceived within the cultural program promoted by Carlo di Borbone, king of Naples and Sicily, who in 1738 had ordered the start of the Herculaneum excavations. The work comprises a total of 2,726 pages, eleven engraved plates, mostly folded, and numerous illustrations in the text. Bayardi develops an extensive historical, mythological and erudite treatise devoted chiefly to Hercules, the traditions of antiquity, and the origins of the city. The most prestigious element of the copy consists of the five contemporary Neapolitan bindings in full calf, gilded with the arms of the dedicatee sovereign on the covers. A bibliographically significant ensemble, uniting the history of archaeology, antiquarian culture, and the magnificence of the Bourbon court.

WHY TO BUY
The principal distinctive element of this exemplar is the five contemporary Neapolitan bindings in calf, richly decorated in gold and adorned with the arms of Carlo di Borbone, king of Naples and Sicily and future Charles III of Spain. The royal arms confer a particular historical interest to the collection, as they physically link the work to the sovereign who promoted the Herculaneum excavations and to whom Bayardi dedicated his work. This is not merely a commemorative publication: the Prodrome was born within a precise prestige program of dynastic and cultural stature through which the Bourbon monarchy aimed to present to Europe the extraordinary archaeological discoveries made in the Kingdom’s territories. In 1746 Carlo di Borbone personally entrusted Ottavio Antonio Bayardi with the task of illustrating the Herculaneum antiquities. The publication was produced by the Regale Stamperia Palatina, an institution tied to the cultural representation of the monarchy. The gold-impressed royal arms on the covers testifying to the edition’s special representational purpose. Copies with similar heraldic bindings are documented in important bibliographic collections, confirming the existence of a type of exemplar intended to celebrate the prestige of the Bourbon patronage. The possible personal belonging of this set to Carlo di Borbone’s library is not documented, but the relationship among the sovereign, the work, and its material presentation remains of exceptional historical interest. The five volumes thus constitute a substantial testimony to the book as a tool of culture, dynastic prestige, and representation of power in eighteenth-century Europe.

MARKET VALUE
Indicative commercial value: €3,200–3,500. The valuation takes into account the completeness of the five volumes, the historical importance of the first great editorial enterprise devoted to Herculaneum, the presence of the eleven engraved plates and, above all, the prestigious contemporary Neapolitan bindings in gold with the arms of Carlo di Borbone. The link to the promoting sovereign is the main element enhancing the collectible value. The heraldic bindings give the set a representational character that distinguishes it from copies bound in standard bindings.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Five quarto volumes, overall pp. XLVIII, 2678, totaling 2,726 pages according to the bibliographic record. Eleven plates engraved out of text, mostly folded, in addition to illustrations, drop caps and wood-engraved ornaments. Evident foxing. The first volume preserves the title page printed in red and black, adorned with an engraved vignette. Prestigious contemporary Neapolitan bindings in full calf, with gilded decorations and the arms of Carlo di Borbone impressed on the boards. Spines with richly decorated gold compartments. The bindings show light rubbing, spine ends chipped and some woodworm holes. The paper shows occasional browning and foxing, consistent with the age of the work. The ensemble maintains notable aesthetic uniformity and the historical character of the original bindings. In old books with a multisection history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. This listing contains AI Visualizations. Refer to the original photographs to verify the object’s actual conditions. The images are an integral part of the description.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Prodromo delle antichità d'Ercolano alla Maestà del Re delle Due Sicilie Carlo infante di Spagna, duca di Parma, Piacenza, &c. &c.
Napoli, Regale Stamperia Palatina, 1752 [tomi III–V pubblicati nel 1756].
Ottavio Antonio Bayardi.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The rediscovery of Herculaneum represented one of the most important cultural events in eighteenth-century Europe. The Roman city, buried by the 79 A.D. eruption of Vesuvius, had preserved under volcanic materials extraordinary testimonies of ancient life. In 1738, during the reign of Carlo di Borbone, systematic excavations began that brought to light sculptures, murals, mosaics, inscriptions, and objects of the Roman civilization. The discoveries immediately aroused great interest at European courts and scholarly circles, contributing to the birth of a new sensibility toward archaeology and classical art. Carlo di Borbone quickly grasped the political and cultural prestige that could stem from these discoveries and promoted an ambitious program of study, preservation and publication of the finds. It was in this context that the Prodromo delle antichità d'Ercolano was born. Bayardi, commissioned by the sovereign to illustrate the findings, conceived a monumental work intended to provide a broad historical, mythical and literary panorama of the Herculanean antiquities. The text focuses especially on the figure of Hercules, on the mythical traditions related to the city’s founding, and on the testimonies of ancient authors. Although not a systematic catalog of the archaeological finds, the Prodromo represents a fundamental testimony of the first phase of Herculaneum studies, when the interpretation of the discoveries was still deeply tied to antiquarian and philological culture. The undertaking preceded the publication of the famous Antichità di Ercolano esposte, begun in 1757 under the direction of the Accademia Ercolanese. Bayardi’s work thus documents a decisive transitional moment, in which the scholarly tradition of the past began to confront the new needs of archaeological documentation. The bindings with Carlo di Borbone’s arms further strengthen the volume’s historical significance, underscoring the central role of the monarchy in promoting and disseminating the discoveries.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Ottavio Antonio Bayardi (Parma, 1694 – Rome, 1764) was an Italian ecclesiastic, literatus and scholar, active in the 18th-century cultural circles. His humanistic training and broad knowledge of classical literature made him a suitable figure for the ambitious antiquarian projects promoted by the Neapolitan court. In 1746 Carlo di Borbone entrusted him with the task of studying and illustrating the antiquities that emerged from the Herculaneum excavations. Bayardi undertook a work of considerable scope, aimed at gathering and interpreting literary, historical and mythological testimonies connected to the city and its territory. The result was the monumental Prodromo delle antichità d'Ercolano, published in five volumes, followed by a catalog of the unearthed monuments. The breadth of the treatment and the predominantly erudite approach sparked discussions in contemporary intellectual circles, especially because the work devoted more space to ancient sources and mythology than to direct descriptions of the finds. The subsequent establishment of the Accademia Ercolanese signaled a shift to a different model of documentation, based on more systematic publication of the antiquities uncovered. Despite these limitations, Bayardi’s work preserves considerable historical importance as a testimony of the early scientific and editorial ambitions tied to the rediscovery of Herculaneum.

PROVENANCE AND ROYAL BINDINGS
The five contemporary Neapolitan bindings in gold with Carlo di Borbone’s arms represent the exemplar’s greatest prestige element. Carlo di Borbone (1716–1788), son of Philip V of Spain and Elisabeth Farnese, became king of Naples and Sicily in 1734 and later king of Spain in 1759 as Charles III. His Neapolitan reign was marked by a major program of political, artistic and cultural renewal, including the construction of grand royal residences, the promotion of the arts, and support for archaeological research. The excavations of Herculaneum, begun at his insistence in 1738, were among the most celebrated outcomes of this policy. The Prodrome publication fits directly into this context. The work was dedicated to the sovereign and printed by the Regale Stamperia Palatina, an institution tied to the cultural representation of the monarchy. The royal arms impressed in gold on the covers’ plates attest to the edition’s special representational purpose. Copies with similar heraldic bindings are documented in important bibliographic collections, confirming the existence of a type of exemplar intended to celebrate the prestige of Bourbon patronage. The personal ownership of this set by Carlo di Borbone’s library is not documented, but the relationship among the sovereign, the work, and its material presentation remains of exceptional historical interest. The five volumes thus constitute a significant testimony to the book as a tool of culture, dynastic prestige, and representation of power in eighteenth-century Europe.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The Prodromo delle antichità d'Ercolano was published in Naples by the Regale Stamperia Palatina in five volumes, with 1752 as the date on the frontispieces. The first two volumes appeared in 1752, while volumes III–V were completed and published in 1756. The collection represents one of the early large-scale undertakings of the royal printing house, established to provide adequate editorial diffusion to the archaeological discoveries promoted by the Bourbon monarchy. Realizing such an extensive work required substantial typographic and organizational effort. The five volumes total over 2,700 pages, with an illustrative apparatus consisting of eleven engraved plates, numerous figures in the text, ornaments and drop caps. The elegance of the typographic composition and the presence of copies bound in royal arms reflect the importance attributed to the publication by the Neapolitan court. The work precedes the great cycle of the Antichità di Ercolano esposte, begun in 1757 under the auspices of the Accademia Ercolanese, which would play a fundamental role in the international diffusion of images and knowledge related to Vesuvian discoveries. The Prodromo thus occupies a historically significant position at the dawn of the great editorial season devoted to Herculaneum and the rediscovery of classical antiquity.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Ottavio Antonio Bayardi, Prodromo delle antichità d'Ercolano alla Maestà del Re delle Due Sicilie Carlo infante di Spagna, duca di Parma, Piacenza, &c. &c., Naples, Regale Stamperia Palatina, 1752 [tomi III–V pubblicati nel 1756]. Five volumes in quarto, pp. XLVIII, 2678, with eleven engraved plates and illustrations in the text. Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, entry Ottavio Antonio Bayardi. Nova Bibliotheca Pompeiana.