DIEHL Charles - ORAZI Manuel. Théodora, Impératrice de Byzance

Paris, H. Piazza et Cie, 1904.

In-8 (230x165mm). Half shagreen with gilt corners and fillets. First cover in marbled paper. Flat spine, richly decorated with fillets, fleurons and shapes in gilt and red, title label and date. Inside cover and endpapers in marbled paper followed by white endpapers. Illustrated cover preserved. 61 color compositions with gold highlights by Manuel Orazi, including 2 outside the text and 12 full-page.

Here is a captivating reading by Charles Diehl on the great story of Theodora, from the plebs of Constantinople and who, from a popular dancer, ended up as Empress of the Eastern Roman Empire by marrying Justinian I in 527.
The Byzantine atmosphere of the ornaments, the compositions by Manuelles Orazi as well as the superb chapter headings sometimes embellished with gold give the reading of Theodora's life a whole other dimension.

Printed in 300 copies, here one of 260 on hand-made vellum paper, by Blanchet frères and Kléber No. 107.

About the text and Charles Diehl, Wikipedia cites Elisabeth Malamut and Georges Sidéris:
In publishing Théodora, impératrice de Byzance, he wanted to give a more measured vision of the Byzantine empress, in counterpoint to the image of a femme fatale and manipulator popularized by Victorien Sardou. This work then testifies to the links between the construction of Byzantinology as a historical science in its own right and the place of Byzantium in the artistic culture of the time, these two movements enriching each other jointly.


To learn more:

Among Manuel Orazi's most famous works we will find his famous Magic Calendar (https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b10544640k) an illustrated calendar in a symbolist spirit whose graphic aspect transports us between the realm of the living and the dead.

But also magnificent and difficult to find illustrated books, such as his illustration of Les Fleurs du Mal, Paris, Le Vasseur & Cie, 1934. (https://casaubon.fr/products/orazi-baudelaire-charles-les-fleurs-du-mal) in a strong symbolist style. Or Salomé by Oscar Wilde, 1930, in a magnificent art deco style (https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k15214471/f13.planchecontact).

Charles Diehl's Wikipedia page: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Diehl
Manuel Orazi's Wikipedia page: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Orazi

Condition: the binding is rubbed, the interior is in good condition (see photos)