Subscribe to be notified if similar examples become available.
ATHENS. - Vue de la Lanterne de Demosthene a Athenes. |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Estimated value: $480 - $700 |
Description
The view shows the monument as part of the French Capuchin monastry, with a group of musicians and dancers in the street. The monastery founded in 1658, succeeded in purchasing the monument in 1669 when it was being called the "Lantern of Diogenes" after the famous Athenian cynic philosopher of the 4th century BC.
A reading of its inscription by Jacob Spon established its original purpose. and that it was was erected by the choregos Lysicrates, a wealthy patron of musical performances in the Theatre of Dionysus, to commemorate the award of first prize in 335/334 BC to one of the performances he had sponsored. [The choregos was the sponsor who paid for and supervised the training of the dramatic dance-chorus.]
It was erected in the Street of the Tripods an ancient road that led from the sanctuary of Dionysos around the east and northeast sides of the Acropolis and the monument is adorned with a frieze depicting episodes of the life of Dionysus, the god whose rites developed into Greek theatre.
(In the Middle Ages, the monument also acquired the nickname "Lantern of Demosthenes" from the erroneous belief that the 4h century orator composed his speeches there.)
Lord Byron stayed at the Capuchin monastery during his second visit to Greece. In 1818, friar Francis planted in its gardens the first tomato plants in Greece. In 1821 the convent, which had enclosed the monument, used as a storage for books, was burned during the Ottoman occupation of Athens, and subsequently demolished, and the monument was inadvertently exposed to the weather.
In 1829, the monks offered the structure to an Englishman on tour, but it proved to be too cumbersome to disassemble and ship. Lord Elgin negotiated unsuccessfully for the monument, by then an icon in the Greek Revival.
French archaeologists cleared the rubble from the half-buried monument and searched the area for missing architectural parts. In 1876–1887, the architects François Boulanger and E. Loviot supervised a restoration under the auspices of the French government.
Reference: Blackmer/ Navari :1009; Atabey 709;Cohen de-Ricci 627
FAQ - Guarantee - Shipping
Buying in the BuyNow Gallery
This item is available for immediate purchase when a "Add to Cart" or "Inquire Now" button is shown.
Items are sold in the EU margin scheme
Payments are accepted in Euros or US Dollars.
Authenticity Guarantee
We provide professional descriptions, condition report (based on 45 years experience in the map business)
Paulus Swaen warrants the authenticity of our items and a certificate of authenticity is provided for each acquired lot.
Condition and Coloring
We indicate the condition of each item and use our unnique HiBCoR grading system in which four key items determine a map's value: Historical Importance, Beauty, Condition/Coloring and Rarity.
Color Key
We offer many maps in their original black and white condition. We do not systematically color-up maps to make them more sellable to the general public or buyer.
Copper engraved or wood block maps are always hand colored. Maps were initially colored for aesthetic reasons and to improve readability. Nowadays, it is becoming a challenge to find maps in their original colors and are therefor more valuable.
We use the following color keys in our catalog:
Original colors; mean that the colors have been applied around the time the map was issued.
Original o/l colors; means the map has only the borders colored at the time of publication.
Colored; If the colors are applied recently or at the end of the 20th century.
Read more about coloring of maps [+]
Shipping fee
A flat shipping fee of $ 30 is added to each shipment by DHL within Europe and North America. This covers : International Priority shipping, Packing and Insurance (up to the invoice amount).
Shipments to Asia are $ 40 and rest of the world $50
We charge only one shipping fee when you have been successful on multiple items or when you want to combine gallery and auction purchases.
Read more about invoicing and shipping
FAQ
Please have a look for more information about buying in the BuyNow gallery
Many answers are likely to find in the general help section.
Virtual Collection
With Virtual Collection you can collect all your favorite items in one place. It is free, and anyone can create his or her Virtual map collection.
Unless you are logged in, the item is only saved for this session. You have to be registed and logged-in if you want to save this item permanently to your Virtual Collection.
Read More[+]
Register here, it is free and you do not need a credit card.
Add this item to
Virtual Collection
or click the following link to see my Virtual Collection.
High-Resolution Digital Image Download | |
Paulus Swaen maintains an archive of most of our high-resolution rare maps, prints, posters and medieval manuscript scans. We make them freely available for download and study. Read more about free image download |
In accordance with the EU Consumer Rights Directive and habitually reside in the European Union you have the right to cancel the contract for the purchase of a lot, without giving any reason.
The cancellation period will expire 14 calendar days from the day after the date on which you or a third party (other than the carrier and indicated by you) acquires, physical possession of the lot. To exercise the right to cancel you must inform Paulus Swaen Europe bv, which is offering to sell the lot either as an agent for the seller or as the owner of the lot, of your decision to cancel this contract by a clear statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, or e-mail (amsterdam@swaen.com).
To meet the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right to cancel before the cancellation period has expired.