Government and Reason of State, Pl. 73 — Nouvelle Iconologie Historique

A commanding hand-coloured engraving pairing the allegorical trophies of Government and Reason of State in Delafosse's Neoclassical idiom.

Original title: Gouvernement. Raison d'État. Drawn and engraved by Jean-Charles Delafosse. Plate 73 from Nouvelle Iconologie Historique, published by Jean-François Daumont, Paris, c. 1770.

Delafosse's Iconologie assembled a systematic vocabulary of emblems for use by architects, sculptors, and decorators. The sceptre, scales, and book of laws shown here belong to his repertoire for civic virtue — motifs that would reappear, after the Revolution, on official seals, medals, and public monuments of the French state.

Hand-coloured copperplate engraving. Sheet approximately 46.3 × 34.5 cm. Very Good condition.