Ten Books on Architecture

An elaborate architectural frontispiece in the form of a triumphal monument. The structure is divided into three main horizontal registers. The top register (attic) features four niches, each containing a standing female figure holding instruments such as a compass or a square. In the central panel between these figures, an ownership inscription has been added by hand. The middle register consists of a large central arch supported by fluted Corinthian columns. Inside the arch stands a regal female figure wearing a crown and robes with a sun-shaped emblem on the chest; she holds a long staff or measuring rod in her left hand, personifying Architecture. Above the arch, reclining figures occupy the spandrels. Flanking the main arch are smaller vertical sections containing square relief carvings of figures in various poses above arched niches with smaller standing statues. The bottom register is a wide, blank rectangular pedestal with ornate scrolled acanthus leaf decorations at the left and right corners.