Four Antique Hand-Colored Engravings based on Ovid's Metamorphoses
Four lovely framed antique hand-colored prints based on the four winds from the 1st c. CE poet Ovid's masterpiece, _The Metamorphoses_, which tells the story of the history of the world up until the time of Julius Caesar. Each of these four prints depicts a detailed story of four different winds (and their associated seasons and gods) present in Book One of Ovid's masterpiece. Each piece features whimsically playful cherubs, stylized Baroque vegetation and ancient-looking stylized ruins. The prints are as follows:
1) Zephyro, the West Wind (the god of Spring breezes);
2) Boreas, the North Wind (and the cold breath of Winter);
3) Austro, the South Wind (and the god of Summer rainstorms; cherubs outside with umbrellas);
4) Eurus, the East Wind (associated with Fall winds).
Printed by "Klauber Cath. Sc. et excudit Aug. Vind."

Book One, lines 52-68 mention these four winds: "Air overhangs them, heavier than fire by as much as water’s weight is lighter than earth. There he ordered the clouds and vapours to exist, and thunder to shake the minds of human beings, and winds that create lightning-bolts and flashes. The world’s maker did not allow these, either, to possess the air indiscriminately; as it is they are scarcely prevented from tearing the world apart, each with its blasts steering a separate course: like the discord between brothers. Eurus, the east wind, drew back to the realms of Aurora, to Nabatea, Persia, and the heights under the morning light: Evening, and the coasts that cool in the setting sun, are close to Zephyrus, the west wind. Chill Boreas, the north wind, seized Scythia and the seven stars of the Plough: while the south wind, Auster, drenches the lands opposite with incessant clouds and rain. Above these he placed the transparent, weightless heavens free of the dross of earth."
Each of the 4 prints measures 8.5" x 10"; framed each print measures 14" x 15".