Divers Trophées (Weapon Trophies after the Façade of Palazzo Milesi in Rome)

Description

Divers Trophées crowns its central helmet with a winged female figure, poised above an elaborate arrangement of armor. Curved shields spread to either side, their scrolling decoration contrasting with the dark spaces behind them. The design draws the eye upward from the broad inscription through the helmet to its delicate sculptural crest.

René Lochon’s engraving of 1651 translates Charles Errard’s drawings after Polidoro da Caravaggio’s Palazzo Milesi decorations into fine lines and patterned shadow. The combination of symmetry and inventive detail gives this ornamental trophy an almost architectural presence.