Dagger and scabbard
Medium
Etching; only state
Dimensions
Sheet: 6 3/16 × 4 7/16 in. (15.7 × 11.2 cm) cut c. 1 x 3 mm within platemark
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951
Accession Number
51.501.2094
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold this delicate etching, *Dagger and Scabb*, created by the masterful Bohemian artist Wenceslaus Hollar 1645, with ties to designs by Hans Holbein the. Hollar, renowned for his reproductive prints during a turbulent era—including the English Civil War—was celebrated for capturing the elegance of Renaissance ornamentation. Produced as a-state etching on a modest sheet measuring just 6 3/16 × 4 7/16 inches, this work exemplifies the precision of intaglio printing, where acid bites into a metal plate to yield fine, expressive lines. The composition showcases a richly decorated dagger and it...
About the Artist
Wenceslaus Hollar|Hans Holbein the Younger · 1607–1677
Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-1677) was a prolific Bohemian etcher who became one of the most accomplished printmakers of the seventeenth century. Born in Prague, he trained under Matthäus Merian in Frankfurt before entering the service of Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, in 1636. Hollar spent most of his career in England, where he produced approximately 2,740 etchings documenting an extraordinary range...