BASTARD d'ESTANG, Jean-Fr.-Auguste. - Lot 68

BASTARD d'ESTANG, Jean-Fr.-Auguste. Portraits of Nicephore Botaniate, Emperor of the East, Empress Marie his Wife and Saint John Chrysostom. 1078-1081. [s.l.], 1844. In folio (56 x 40 cm), 4 lithographs. Sewn in yellow folder, printed title, table of contents verso (marginal foxing, wetness on pl. III and IV, folder soiled and damaged at upper left corner). Rare. Large black lithographed plates featuring line drawings of the portraits of Nicephorus and Marie, Nicephorus surrounded by his dignitaries, his calligrapher and the monk Sabas. Auguste de Bastard d'Estang (1792-1883), officer, historian and bibliophile, printer-lithographer of his works, known for his project to reproduce illuminated manuscripts Peintures et ornements des manuscrits (Paris, 1837-1846). Nicephorus III Botaniates (ca. 1078-1081), last emperor before the Comnenes dynasty, came to power through a military revolt at a time of instability in the Byzantine Empire. His reign was brief and marked by internal strife and Seljuk pressure. [Byzantine Turkey].