Italy - ROME /Cleopatra Selene / Alexander Helios / Vercingetorix / Juba II / Perseus of Macedon / Tigranes; Giacomo Lauro (circa 1583–1650) - REGES REGINÆ AC PRINCIPES ET VIRI AMPLIß. DE QVIBVS ROMANI CVRRVS TRIVMPHARVNT - 1601-1620

The print depicts a historical survey of foreign sovereigns, commanders, and illustrious personalities who were captured and brought to Rome to march as trophies during the Roman triumphs. Each figure or group is marked with a number that refers to the legend and to the descriptive text in Latin printed along the left margin of the work. In the center stands a statue-like personification of triumphant Rome.

1. The Statue of Triumphant Rome (In the Center)

Exactly at the center of the scene is a large classical statue personifying the Goddess Roma, placed on a monumental pedestal. It is depicted as a warrior deity equipped with a helmet, holding a spear in one hand and a small statue of the Winged Victory (Nike) in the other. It represents the ideal fulcrum toward which all the prisoners’ gazes converge, symbolizing the central power of the Empire to which all kingdoms of the Earth had to bow.

2. Sovereigns and Prisoner Princes (the four numbered groups)

Arranged on four large terraces (two on the left and two on the right), the prisoners are not portrayed as disorderly barbarians, but as kings, queens, and foreign dignitaries dressed in rich ceremonial garments, fur mantles, and crowns, caught in poses of deep submission, resignation, or contemplation. Each of them is marked with a reference number (from 1 to 16):
• Top-left group (Numbers 1-4): Shows a series of Eastern monarchs and kings of Asia Minor, historically captured during campaigns of generals such as Sulla, Lucullus, and Pompey (among whom figures like Tigranes of Armenia or the sons of Mithridates were historically depicted).
• Bottom-left group (Numbers 13-16): Includes royal African and Middle Eastern figures, including descendants and sovereigns of the Tolomaic dynasty of Egypt or of Numidia (such as Juba or the sons of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, paraded in triumph by Octavian Augustus).
• Top-right group (Numbers 5-8): Presents leaders of the formidable northern and European tribes, such as the chiefs of the Gauls, the Germans, and the Britons (famous figures in Caesar’s or Claudius’s triumphs, such as the legendary Caratacus or the idealized image of Vercingetorix).
• Bottom-right group (Numbers 9-12): Shows other commanders of the Balkan and Greek regions, captured during the Republic’s expansion toward the East (such as Philip of Macedonia or the princes of Thrace).

Good condition of preservation