123 - Miliani Paper Mills, Fabriano (1782)

Miliani Paper Mills, Fabriano (1782) The coat of arms of the blacksmiths’ guild Chiaroscuro watermark 29.2 x 19.5 cm (inner dimensions) Provenance: Cassa di Risparmio di Fabriano e Cupramontana; Veneto Banca SpA in LCA Condition. Support: 95% Condition. Surface: 95% For direct WhatsApp assistance before and during the live auction: +39 346 12 999 80 // Direct assistance via WhatsApp before and during the auction: +39 346 12 999 80 The print is a reinterpretation of the bas-relief depicting the art of blacksmithing, now set in Largo Bartolo di Sassoferrato in Fabriano, and once part of the now-demolished Ponte dell’Aèra. A marvelous feat of hydraulic engineering by architect Bernardo Rossellino, commissioned by Pope Nicholas V, the bridge—with its four arches—served as the model for the city’s coat of arms. The bridge’s name itself is said to derive from “aes” (genitive “aeris”), a term the ancient Romans used to refer to coinage and coins—a fact that suggests the presence, even in ancient times, of a mint or a toll collection point between Attidium and Sentinum, which were once populous centers and are now among the Marche region’s most important archaeological sites. The sheet is therefore part of the series of watermarks dedicated to the symbols of Fabriano.