Marble table found in the triclinium of the Priests, and bolt the door of the cell of the Temple of Isis (inc. in outline) 

Editor: We're looking at an etching, "Marble table found in the triclinium of the Priests, and bolt the door of the cell of the Temple of Isis," by Giovanni Battista Piranesi. It seems less like a finished piece and more like a blueprint or study, almost archaeological. What strikes you when you look at this, Professor? Curator: You know, it's funny; the dryness is what leaps out at me, which is probably backwards. This isn’t a celebration; it’s a meticulous act of recording, isn't it? Piranesi’s not just showing us these artifacts. He’s giving us an anatomy lesson on a vanished world, the kind you feel bone-deep. Did you see that almost forensic detail? Editor: The level of detail is incredible. It’s like he’s trying to reconstruct not just the objects, but also the minds that created them. The exacting line work speaks to something grander, somehow. Curator: Exactly! It's more than record-keeping, it’s reaching across time, isn't it? It's like Piranesi’s saying, "Look! We can still touch their thoughts; they weren’t so different from us." Do you ever think about the conversations that may have happened around that very table? All gone, save the memory pressed into this drawing… Editor: I never thought about the conversations that would have occurred! Thinking about it that way puts this artwork in a totally different light! Curator: Doesn’t it? Suddenly it breathes again, beyond just being marble, line and ink. Editor: Definitely, it’s given me so much to think about! Curator: Absolutely. A true delight as well for me!