Container for the Royal Napkins (Nef)
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 5 11/16 x 7 3/16 in. (14.4 x 18.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949
Accession Number
49.95.201
Art Historical Context
Step into the opulent world of Renaissance France with René Boyvin's engraving *Container for the Royal Nap (Nef)*, a masterful print from the 16th. Boyvin, a French goldsmith and engr active in the Mannerist style specialized in intricate ornamental designs inspired by thebleau School. This work, measuring 5 11/16 x 7 3/16 inches, captures the grandeur of a *nef*—a ship-shaped silver container used at royal banquets to hold napkins salts, or utensils, symbolizing naval power and courtly extravagance. The *nef* was more than functional; it embodied the era's fascination with elaborate metalwo...
About the Artist
René Boyvin · 1525–1580
French, Angers ca. 1525–1598 or 1625/6 Angers