Colonna Traiana eretta dal senato, e popolo romano all' imperatore Traiano Augusto nel suo foro in Roma

Oblong folio. Spectacular publication showing the complete Trajan's Column in close-up, etched by Pietro Santo Bartoli (1635-1700). The artist was able to inspect the column up close in the 1660s when King Louis XIV of France commissioned the erection of scaffolding in order to make a cast of the whole frieze. Complete with engraved title, dedication to Louis XIV, 5 plates with cross-sections, the base and a large folding plate showing the full column, and 119 numbered plates showing every scene depicted on the column, from bottom tot top. Bound at the end, the sometimes lacking 14 pp. of explanation in Latin by Alfonso Chacón and 2 pp. index.
The freestanding column was completed in 113. It's famous spiral bas relief frieze depicts the wars between the Romans and Dacians (101-102 & 105-106), in which emperor Trajan turned out to be victorious. It's located at Trajan's Forum.