The 3rd Duke of Alcalá and his epigraphic interests. Notes on his lapidary collection in Seville (XVII Century)

Abstract

In the first decades of the 17 th century Fernando Enriquez de Ribera (1583-1637), 3 rd Duke of Alcala de los Gazules, reformed the Casa de Pilatos, constructing a library and an armory, as well as a large chamber (Camarin Grande). Sessions were periodically held here, creating one of the most important literary and academic gatherings in Seville, attended by painters, poets and art collectors; among them, Francisco Pacheco, Juan de Arguijo and the antiquarian Rodrigo Caro. The Duke also had his antiquarian interests and was an important antique collector. Inventories of his collection were made between 1637 and 1642. This work analyses the lapidary or epigraphic pieces; in particular three modern copies carved in slate of Roman inscriptions from Tarragona, the Isis pedestal from Acci (Guadix), as well as two honorary pedestals from Siarum (Utrera) and Hispalis (Seville). Fernando Enriquez also produced a study on the inscription and reliefs of the pedestal from Guadix, which was given to him by the 3 rd Marquis of Estepa, Adan Centurion, another Andalusian nobleman interested in antiquities and their study.