Banknote motifs: two bands of lathe work ornament
Medium
Engraving on chine collé, printed in green ink; proof
Dimensions
plate: 6 5/8 x 1 15/16 in. (16.8 x 4.9 cm) sheet: 8 1/16 x 2 15/16 in. (20.5 x 7.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Joseph Veach Noble, 2002
Accession Number
2002.333.28
Art Historical Context
This intricate engraving, created by Cyrus Durand and his associated firms between 1824 and 1842, showcases two elegant bands of lathe-work ornament designed as motifs for banknotes Durand, a skilled engraver and inventor, specialized in security printing during America’s early banking era, when paper currency needed robust defenses against counterfeiting. The delicate, interlocking geometric patterns visible here were produced using a rose-engine lathe, a precision tool that generated complex, machine-made designs impossible to replicate by hand. Such ornamental bands served both aesthetic a...
About the Artist
A. B. & C. Durand & Company|Durand, Perkins, and Company|Cyrus Durand (American|American|American) · 1824 |1796 |1787 –1832 |1886 |1868
American, active 1824–32|American, Jefferson, New Jersey 1796–1886 Maplewood, New Jersey|American, 1787–1868