Object Description
162 GIOVANNI BOTTARI (1689-1775)
Obv. Bust to right, in cap and robes. Around, lOHANNES BOTTARIVS; under truncation, G . Z . VE
Rev. Above, a radiating triangle. At right a woman leans against a column which is being broken by a lightning bolt. Three putto heads blow rays toward top of column. At lower left a wolf attacks a dragon. Below, an anchor. In background, a ship with a broken mast on a stormy sea. Around, IN . HOC . EGO
Bronze, 91 mm.
In Rome, Bottari was the historian to the Sapienza and custodian of the Biblioteca Vaticana. He annotated old Italian texts, including the Decameron, and was the major compiler for the Accademia della Crusca vocabolario of 1729-37. An archaeologist and art lover, he annotated Vasari in 1757 and with Giacomo Garrara wrote seven volumes of Lettere sulla sculture, pittura e architettura scritte dai piu celebri professori dal sec. XV al XVIII (1754-73).
