La caccia dei Castori
D. Veremondo Rossi MV
Etching and engraving on laid paper, matted, glazed black wood frame
Plate size: 9 1/8 x7" (23.2 x 17.8 cm) Frame: 15 1/2 x 12 1/4"
Ref. DG2(171)/LN/dn.ands>DAL PRICE CODE A
Published in Il Gazzettiere Americano contenente un distinto ragguaglio di tutte le parti del nuovo mondo. Vol 1 In Livorno, per Marco Coltellini 1763 - incisori: Veremondo Rossi. This encyclopedia was translated from an English edition and was the first comprehensive geographical dictionary of America in Italian.
Depicts a Beaver lodge containing 45 animals, under attack by Amerindian natives hunting beavers using guns or muskets, bows and arrows, with a beaver dam in the foreground. In the background, hunters skin the beavers. The beavers are depicted residing in tidy compartments comparable to urban apartments or tenement-style living arrangements, which are plainly visible as this is an architectural section through the front of their perfectly formed conical dwelling or lodge. This 18th.century Italian image ironically contrasts the ‘civilized’ traits of the beavers with the ’savage’ traits of their virtually naked adversaries.
Veremondo Rossi was an Italian monk who specialized in etching/engraving. He was active in Tuscany 1760-1770.