Francesco (de') Ficoroni FRS (1664 – 25 January 1747)[1] was an Italian archaeologist, connoisseur and antiquarian in Rome closely involved with the antiquities trade.[2] He was the author of numerous publications on ancient Roman sculpture and antiquities, guides to the monuments of Rome and the city's ancient topography, and on ancient Greek and Roman theatre and theatrical masks, among other subjects. For his antiquarian works he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of London.[3] A major segment of his potential audience, both for his publications and for the objects from his perpetually changing collection, was composed of British milordi on their Grand Tours. His complementary volumes on ancient and modern Rome (1744) remained in print long after his death: Thomas Jefferson purchased both volumes while he was abroad in 1785-89.[4]
- ^ Sandys, John Edwin (1908). A History of Classical Scholarship. Vol. 2: From the Revival of Learning to the End of the Eighteenth Century in Italy, France, England and the Netherlands. Cambridge University Press. p. 380.
- ^ Lang, Jörn (2014). "Ficoroni, Francesco de'". Brill's New Pauly Supplements I - Volume 6: History of Classical Scholarship - A Biographical Dictionary. doi:10.1163/2214-8647_bnps6_COM_00230.
- ^ According to the title page of his Gemmae antiquae, 1750.
- ^ They are listed in the catalogue he made.