Collection of HSH Prince Nicolò and HSH Princess Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi, Rome (this and all MS photos below).
Here’s an item from the newly-recovered Boncompagni Ludovisi archive at the Villa Aurora that positively leaps to the eye—not so much for intrinsic value (it’s a copy, as we shall see) but for the brilliant light it throws on the history of collecting in the Seicento. Put briefly, it’s a careful inventory of 3557 coins and medals that Cardinal Girolamo Boncompagni (1622-1684, direct great-grandson of Pope Gregory XIII Boncompagni) had either inherited or purchased, and then willed (with the rest of his amazing estate) to the Ospedali della Vita e della Morte in Bologna.
The fascinating bit is that each item is assigned a contemporary cash value, in scudi Romani (the currency of the Papal States until 1866). As such, one gets not just a comprehensive overview of a premier 17th century numismatic collection, but also a spectacular lesson on what factors determined relative worth in the art market of that era. [Read more…]
Archivio Digitale Boncompagni Ludovisi 