The Battle of Zama

A photograph of a drawing formerly in the collection of Lord Leigh of Stoneleigh Abbey, who presented it to the Royal Library through K.T. Parker in 1953. Other drawings of this subject survive in the Louvre (inv. nos.3717 and 3718) and in the Albertina, Vienna (inv. SR 405). A further one was once in the Gatteaux Collection in Paris but was destroyed in 1871 (a photograph at RCIN 852258). The subject is related to the set of tapestries illustrating the history of Scipio Africanus commissioned by Francis I from Giulio Romano between 1531 and 1535, who is held responsible for the invention of the composition. The Louvre drawing (inv. no.3717) has been described as the design ('petit patron') for the tapestry. The composition was engraved by Cornelis Cort in 1567, an impression of which can be found at RCIN 852263. It has been suggested that the ex-Gatteaux drawing (which is pricked for transfer) may be the original by Giulio Romano and may have served as the modello for the engraving (Massari 1993). According to Parker (1956), Lord Leigh's drawing is the one pounced from the ex-Gatteaux sheet. For further discussion on the subject, see Bibliographic References.