1 / 10

Description

KIRCHER (Athanasius): Athanasii Kircheri fuldensis Buchonii E soc. Iesu Prodromus coptus sive ægyptiacus. Rome, Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, 1636. One volume. 16 by 24 cm. 340 pages. Contemporary full vellum with the arms of Cardinal Lorenzo Magalotti (Fasced Or and Sable on a chief Gules charged with the motto "LIBERTAS" in letters Or.), with double framing and spandrels, ornate spine. Small nibble at bottom of upper board (minor defect), missing laces. Two small traces of light marginal dampening. Very rare foxing. Several leaves browned. Otherwise a very fine copy, in a well-preserved quality binding. First edition of this work on the Coptic language by the German Jesuit Athanasius KIRCHER (1602-1680), with a vignette on the title page bearing the coat of arms of Cardinal Barberini (Bishop of Ferrara), to whom the book is dedicated. KIRCHER was a physicist, mathematician, orientalist, cabalist and philologist. The book is the first published grammar of the Coptic language. It is to Kircher, Champollion would say, that "learned Europe owes in some way the knowledge of the Coptic language." The volume includes numerous passages printed in Coptic, Hebrew, Syriac and Chinese characters. It is illustrated with woodcut figures in the text. Cardinal Lorenzo Magalotti, whose coat of arms adorns the binding, was related to Pope Urban VIII, maffeo Barberini, as his brother Carlo Barberini had married Lorenzo's very devout sister, Costanza. Magalotti was therefore a member of the Barberini family, to whom the book is dedicated. The word LIBERTAS on the chief is very rare in ecclesiastical heraldry, as mottoes are usually placed lower down, on a scroll and below the coat of arms. This exception stems from the Magalotti family's participation in Florence's resistance against Pope Gregory XI, in 1535-1536. As a result of this involvement, the Magalotti coat of arms was enriched with the motto LIBERTAS, which this glorious past later protected, despite what it says about their opposition to the papacy. The blazon on the binding is thus linked to KIRCHER's patron family, the Barberini... Thanks to scholar P. S. for his help with this heraldic research.

Automatically translated by DeepL. The original version is the only legally valid version.
To see the original version, click here.

110 
Go to lot
<
>

KIRCHER (Athanasius): Athanasii Kircheri fuldensis Buchonii

Estimate 900 - 1 400 EUR

* Not including buyer’s premium.
Please read the conditions of sale for more information.

Sale fees: 25 %
Leave bid
Register

For sale on Saturday 07 Sep : 10:30 (CEST) , resuming at 14:00
villefranche-sur-saone, France
Richard Maison de ventes
+33428390020
Browse the catalogue Sales terms Sale info

Delivery to
Change delivery address
MBE VILLEFRANCHE-SUR-SAÔNE
More information
Delivery is not mandatory.
You may use the carrier of your choice.
The indicated price does not include the price of the lot or the auction house's fees.

You may also like

REDI, Francis. Experiences concerning various natural things, and particularly those, which are brought to us from the Indies ... written in a letter to the Most Reverend Father Athanasius Chircher. Florence, All'Insegna della Nave, 1671 4to, 255x160 mm, Half vellum and hardback binding; pp. 6, 152. 6 engraved plates, (types of rocks, black pepper, fennel from China, vanilla seeds and leaves, and some other natural specimens from the West and East Indies). Title in red and black, with engraved vignette with the Medici coat of arms, Inscription of contemporary ownership of Giovanni Nicola Barsanti, from Lucca, author of some small literary works in 1670-80.Large specimen with full margins, untrimmed. A little browning here and there due to paper quality (heavier on 2 sheets), slight bump on edge of first few papers, with a few very small tears, but an authentic, unsophisticated copy. First edition of this work by the Italian naturalist and poet Francesco Redi, lying in the Museum's book field, or cabinet of canonical curiosities, containing his "investigations of various botanical and zoological specimens, among which were some brought from India; among them were Chinese star anise, cobra and iguana "stones," vanilla pods, and a leaf of chinchona. The treatise is in the form of a letter to Athanasius Kircher"(Norman catal., no. 1815). 4to, 255x160 mm, quarter vellum, pp. 6, 152. 6 engraved plates, Title in red and black with engraved vignette with Medici's coat of arms. Inscription of contemporary ownership of Giovanni Nicola Barsanti from Lucca, author of little literature works. Specimen with wide margins, not trimmed. Browning due to the quality of paper, a slight bump on the edge of the first leaves, with little tears; a fresh copy. First edition of this work by the Italian naturalist and poet Francesco Redi, lying in the field of the Museum's books, or cabinet of canonical curiosities, containing his "investigations on various botanical and zoological specimens, including some brought from India; among these there were Chinese star anise, "stones" of cobras and iguanas, vanilla pods and a leaf of chinchona. The treatise is in the form of a letter to Athanasius Kircher "