DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE. Thèbes. Karnak. Vue et détails des sphinx de l'avenue des propylées du Palais. (ANTIQUITES, volume III, planche 46)

Original etching in plano extracted from the 'Imperial Edition' of the Description of Egypt or Series observations and research made in Egypt during the French expedition, published by order of His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great. Conducted between 1802 and 1830, she was taken in 1000 copies available to institutions. Laid paper with watermark see-through ancient and modern Egypt, protected by winds. View of one of the huge rams that line the main avenue of access to the palace, maimed, having lost his head like everyone else. It is perched on a stand still buried under which stands an officer of Napoleon's army taking note of the speech of two men in the country. Below, the same ram is rendered on a pedestal bearing a hieroglyphic inscription that looks tiny because of the size of the monumental sculpture, long over 5 m high and about 2 m. Perfect condition, with almost no marginal freckles. The monumental first edition of the Description of Egypt in 13 volumes contained 892 colored plates of which 72, including 9 volumes involved antiquity. The other volumes dealt with the Natural History and modern Egypt as Napoleon Bonaparte had brought with him a commission of scholars from all disciplines so that, they said, in his description was stored the richest museum of universe. The work was written in part by Baron Dominique Vivant Denon before he became DG of Napoleon in the Louvre Museum. More than 80 artists and 400 writers were hired for this huge project. The dimensions of the exceptionally large boards necessitated the creation of a special press and a specific piece of furniture to keep them ...!