Penates, from Deorum Dearumque Capita : ex vetustis numismatibus in gratiam antiquitatis studiosorum effigiata et edita
Not on view
From a series of fifty-five plates with medallion portraits of gods, goddesses, and personifications, after coins from the collection of Abraham Ortelius. Each plate includes the medallion at center, set in a strapwork border with grotesques, with the title in a cartouche above and the provenance of the coin in a cartouche below. In this first edition, published by Philips Galle in Antwerp in 1573 and dedicated by Ortelius to Jan Sambucus, the plates appear in alphabetical order, following the title given above each medallion. The plates were designed by Hans Vredeman de Vries (30 plates) and Gerard van Groeningen (25 plates) and etched by the Van Doetecum brothers, with van Groeningen responsible for the frames in some plates and an unidentified engraver responsible for executing nine of de Vries's designs.
