Frescos, Ancient World, Nymphs, Herculaneum, Ercolano

No title: Two maenads (dancing mythological nymphs) Hand-colored copper etching by Georg Christoph Kilian (1709-1781) Published in "Abbildungen der Gemälde und Alterthümer, welche seit 1738 sowohl in der verschütteten Stadt Herkulaneum, als auch in den umliegenden Gegenden an das Licht gebracht worden". (Wall frescos and antiquities found in the excavations of Heruculaneum and vicinity after 1738) Augsburg, 1793-1797 From a wall fresco in Ercolano (Herculaneum) The two maenads on one page, hand-colored and surrounded by velvety black, reaching to the edge of page. Page size: 30 x 38 cm (ca. 11.8 x 15") Herculaneum Ercolano These prints show frescoes and archeologicl treasures found in the ruins of Herculaneum. Herculaneum was totally buried in superheated pyroclastic ash and lava during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79AD. The town was forgotten until 1710 when the first remains were found. In 1738 Carl von Bourbon, the king of Naples, started a systematic excavation of the are