Etruscan and Republican Roman Mouldings: A Reissue

Lucy Shoe Meritt’s pioneering work in Greek, Roman, and Etruscan architecture has been recognized world-wide for over sixty years through her publications on Profiles of Greek Mouldings (1936), Profiles of Western Greek Mouldings (1952), and Etruscan and Republican Roman Mouldings (1965). A reissue of the latter volume, which has been long out of print, is particularly urgent since the original edition reproduced the drawings in a reduced scale, not at full scale, as is essential to illustrate Meritt’s important conclusions about the differences between Greek, Western Greek, and Etruscan and Roman mouldings.Meritt’s work is based on her own accurate measurements of the molded profiles on ancient buildings, taken with a template. By studying these drawings in the context of ancient architecture, she has been able to use the profile drawings to suggest chronological sequences of buildings, and, in the case of Etruscan mouldings, the regional differences that were more important than the chronological development. The importance of her study of Etruscan and Republican Roman mouldings lies in the fact that the tradition of mouldings continued from the sixth century B.C. into Roman Republican and Imperial times, and from there to the Italian Renaissance and later.This reissue includes a photographic reprint of the original text and photographs, with the important addition of a new preface and two new chapters, one by Meritt on “The Study of Architectural Mouldings,” and one by Ingrid Edlund-Berry on “New Discoveries and Interpretations from 1965 to the Present.” The drawings, published at full scale, are included in a box accompanying the text volume.