Letter of the Alphabet O

Letter of the Alphabet O,  from the series "Antiquities of Herculaneum", is an etching on paper realized by Luigi Vanvitelli in the 18th century.

Good conditions with minor foxing.

The etching belongs to the print suite “Antiquities of Herculaneum Exposed” (original title: “Le Antichità di Ercolano Esposte”), an eight-volume volume of engravings of the finds from the excavation of the ruins of Herculaneum in the Kingdom of Naples (now Campania, Italy). It was published between 1757 and 1792 by the Regia Stamperia, and copies were delivered to selected recipients across Europe.

Despite the title, the Antiquity of Herculaneum shows objects from all the excavations undertaken by the Bourbons in the Gulf of Naples. These include Pompeii, Stabia and two sites of Herculaneum: Resina and Portici.

The Bourbon King Carlo appointed fifteen scholars creating a new “Herculaneum Academy” to study the artifacts and publish the results of the archaeological excavations of the sites.