Various Laws, Pl. 63 — Nouvelle Iconologie Historique

An allegorical staging of Justice and the laws, fasces and tablets gathered around an architectural altar.

Original title: Diverses Loix. Plate 63. Designed and engraved by Jean-Charles Delafosse. From Nouvelle Iconologie Historique ou Attributs Hieroglyphiques. Published in Paris by Jean-François Daumont, c. 1770.

Delafosse's juridical plates draw on Roman republican imagery — fasces, scales, and curule chairs — at a moment when the French parlements were openly contesting royal authority. The print sits within the broader pre-revolutionary fascination with classical models of civic virtue and the rule of law.

Hand-coloured copperplate engraving. Sheet approximately 46.5 × 33.7 cm. Excellent.