Pierre-François Hugues D'Hancarville
Encyclopedia
Pierre-François Hugues d'Hancarville was a French
pseudo-aristocrat (Nancy 1719 - Padua 1805). Son of a bankrupt cloth merchant of Nancy, Hancarville was born Pierre-François Hugues, adding the title ‘Baron’ and the aristocratic surname Hancarville himself. An amateur art dealer
he introduced William Hamilton
to the Porcinari family, whose collection of antiquities Hamilton purchased to form the basis of the collection that was subsequently sold to the British Museum. With Hamilton he edited Les Antiquités d'Hancarville published in 4 volumes in 1766-67, a collection of vases and other antiquities from the excavations at Herculaneum
and Pompeii
; one of the most beautiful books ever made, it was influential in informing the emerging taste for neoclassicism
and inspired reproductions from pottery manufacturers such as Wedgwood
. In 1769 Hancarville was forced to flee his creditors in Naples.
Hancarville also produced two pornographic volumes under fictitious imprints:
These were widely pirated, in variously incompetent editions, during his lifetime.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
pseudo-aristocrat (Nancy 1719 - Padua 1805). Son of a bankrupt cloth merchant of Nancy, Hancarville was born Pierre-François Hugues, adding the title ‘Baron’ and the aristocratic surname Hancarville himself. An amateur art dealer
Art dealer
An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art. Art dealers' professional associations serve to set high standards for accreditation or membership and to support art exhibitions and shows.-Role:...
he introduced William Hamilton
William Hamilton (diplomat)
Sir William Hamilton KB, PC, FRS was a Scottish diplomat, antiquarian, archaeologist and vulcanologist. After a short period as a Member of Parliament, he served as British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples from 1764 to 1800...
to the Porcinari family, whose collection of antiquities Hamilton purchased to form the basis of the collection that was subsequently sold to the British Museum. With Hamilton he edited Les Antiquités d'Hancarville published in 4 volumes in 1766-67, a collection of vases and other antiquities from the excavations at Herculaneum
Herculaneum
Herculaneum was an ancient Roman town destroyed by volcanic pyroclastic flows in AD 79, located in the territory of the current commune of Ercolano, in the Italian region of Campania in the shadow of Mt...
and Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
; one of the most beautiful books ever made, it was influential in informing the emerging taste for neoclassicism
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
and inspired reproductions from pottery manufacturers such as Wedgwood
Wedgwood
Wedgwood, strictly speaking Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, is a pottery firm owned by KPS Capital Partners, a private equity company based in New York City, USA. Wedgwood was founded on May 1, 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood and in 1987 merged with Waterford Crystal to create Waterford Wedgwood, an...
. In 1769 Hancarville was forced to flee his creditors in Naples.
Hancarville also produced two pornographic volumes under fictitious imprints:
- Monumens de la vie privée des XII Césars d’apres une suite de pierres et médailles gravées sous leur règne. CapreeCapriCapri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...
, chez Sabellus, 1780 - Monumens du culte secret des dames romaines. Rome: De l'Imprimerie du Vatican, 1787
These were widely pirated, in variously incompetent editions, during his lifetime.