Design for the Prima Machina Erected for the Chinea Festival of 1762

Artwork is in the public domain. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton…

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Artist/Maker Giuseppe Vasi (Italian, 1710 - 1782)

Artist/MakerAfter preparatory drawings executed by Giuseppe Palazzi (Italian, 1740 - 1810)

ArchitectAfter an architectural design by Paolo Posi (Italian, 1708 - 1776)

EngraverInscription engraved by Giovanni Petroschi (Italian, active 18th century)

Printer Filippo Gismondi (Italian)

Date1762

MediumEtching

DimensionsImage: 15 1/2 × 21 1/4 in. (39.4 × 54 cm) Plate: 15 3/4 × 21 7/16 in. (40 × 54.5 cm) Sheet: 19 1/8 × 27 7/16 in. (48.6 × 69.7 cm)

Credit LineGift in honor of Professor Rand Carter's retirement by his former students

Object number2017.18

Not on view

Description"In the eleventh century, the newly arrived Norman rulers of southern Italy and Sicily began to deputize proxies to present a white horse (the chinea) and tribute money to the pope. ... In the eighteenth century, the presentation of the Chinea stood out both for its long history and its regular occurrence, usually on June 28-29. ... The event became part of an ambitiously scaled public festival, whose components included processions through Rome, ... high-society receptions on two consecutive evenings; free red and white wine for the Roman people; concerts of instrumental music; the construction of ephemeral architectural structures (macchine) consisting of wooden armatures embellished with painted flats, sculpture in gesso or papier-mâché, and other forms of decoration; fireworks displays, for which the set pieces served as supports; and the publication of etchings related to preparatory drawings of the structures." (SOURCE: John Moore, "Some Comments on Giuseppe Vasi and the Festival of the Chinea," in James T. Tice & James G. Harper, GIUSEPPE VASI'S ROME: LASTING IMPRESSIONS FROM THE AGE OF THE GRAND TOUR, exh. cat. (Eugene, OR: University of Oregon Press, 2010), p. 59)

Additional Details

Alternate Titles Design for the first set piece of the Chinea of 1762, featuring representations of the Farnese Bull and other celebrated antiquities
Prima macchina per la Chinea con un ‘Edificio con il Toro Farnese’ Piazza Farnese, 28 June

Provenance 2017: Hamilton College (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum), by purchase from C. G. Boerner;
c. 2014 - 2017: C. G. Boerner, by purchase from the estate of a dealer, London.

Markings No markings noted.

Published References John Moore, "Some Comments on Giuseppe Vasi and the Festival of the Chinea," in James T. Tice & James G. Harper, GIUSEPPE VASI'S ROME: LASTING IMPRESSIONS FROM THE AGE OF THE GRAND TOUR, exh. cat. (Eugene, OR: University of Oregon Press, 2010), pp. 59-66, ill. p. 63 [not this impression].

Signature Not signed.

Inscribed "Disegno della Prima Machina rappresentante in simetria disposti alla publica vista vari de molti e preziosi Monumenti antichi sparsi, e conservati nell' Insigne Palazzo Farnese in Roma. Incendiata per commando di S. E. il Sig.r D. LORENZO COLONNA Gran Contestabile del Regno di Napoli &&. come Ambasciatore straordinario di S. M. il RE' delle Due Sicilie &&&. in congiuntura della presentazione della Chinea alla Santità Nestro Signore PAPA CLEMENTE XIII. nella Vigilia de Gloriosi SS. Apostoli PIETRO, e PAOLO l' ANNO 1762 ~~~" in plate below composition; "Paolo Posi Architetto" in plate at lower left; "Giuseppe Palazzi disegni" in plate at lower center; "Giuseppe Vasi incise" in plate at lower right; "[illegible]" lower right corner in brown ink; "1762" on verso at upper right in pencil; "3" on verso at lower right in pencil.