DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE. Frontispice au chiffre de Napoléon. (ANTIQUITES, volume I)

Original etching etching in plano, untrimmed, extracted from the 'Imperial Edition' of the Description of Egypt or Series observations and research conducted in Egypt during the French expedition, published by order of His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great. Important frontispiece of this 'edition Imperiale', with the figure of Napoleon. It presents an overview of the Nile Valley with its monuments; this view is framed by a backdrop for the gypsy. On the top, a winged sun disk overlooking the Emperor Napoleon, preceded by an eagle pushes the Mamluks. Follow the chariot of Fame, the gods of wisdom and science. On the sides of the decoration, medallions with the names of victories in Egypt. In the lower part, the imperial seal and the bee - symbol of the Empire. Subsequently, this page frontispiece will be redone, and the figure of Napoleon will be replaced by the arms of King Louis XVIII. Conducted between 1802 and 1830 and published between 1809 and 1828, she was taken in 1000 copies available to institutions. Laid the watermark visible by transparency ancient and modern Egypt paper. Excellent freshness and preservation. 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 ...!