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This object is the first item in a set that contains 73 objects.

Object Timeline

1967

  • We acquired this object.

2007

2024

  • You found it!

Book, Etruscan Chimneypiece, from Diverse Maniere d'adornare i cammini

This is a Book. It was created by Giovanni Battista Piranesi. It is dated 1769 and we acquired it in 1967. Its medium is etching on paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

In his book Diversi maniere (Various ways of decorating chimneypieces and other parts of the house), Piranesi asserts that classical ornament can be adapted for use in the modern eighteenth-century interior. His designs have no pretensions to archeological correctness; Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek, and Roman motifs all freely combine in an eclectic manner. In the text, Piranesi encourages artists to approach classical design as a source of inspiration rather than a model to be slavishly copied.

This object was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Gustave Gilbert. It is credited Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gustave Gilbert.

Its dimensions are

(overall, closed book, irregular): 61 x 45.5 cm (24 in. x 17 15/16 in.)

It is signed

Signed in plate, lower left: Cavalier Piranesi inv. e inc.

It is inscribed

Inscribed in plate, lower right: 21

Cite this object as

Book, Etruscan Chimneypiece, from Diverse Maniere d'adornare i cammini; Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, 1720–1778); Italy; etching on paper; (overall, closed book, irregular): 61 x 45.5 cm (24 in. x 17 15/16 in.); Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gustave Gilbert; 1967-85-24

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18459751/ |title=Book, Etruscan Chimneypiece, from Diverse Maniere d'adornare i cammini |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=25 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>