Picturae antiquae cryptarum Romanarum et sepulcri Nasonum
This is a 1750 Roman folio of engraved plates by Giovanni Pietro Bellori, published by Antonio de Rubeis, copying ancient painted and mosaic decoration from Roman burial chambers and the Nasone family tomb for antiquarians and scholars. The plates are numbered tables of figures in stiff classical poses, rendered in fine black line with hatched shading on blank pages. A designer could take from them the ordered, schematic layout of ancient Roman figurative decoration, with its framed panels, draped figures and attendant architectural niches.
