Design for a Gilt Leather Panel
ca. 1660–70
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 7/8 × 3 1/4 in. (12.4 × 8.3 cm) [cropped within plate mark]
Classification
Prints|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Susan Schulman Printseller, in honor of Dr. Peter Fuhring, 2013
Accession Number
2013.19
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate engraving, titled *Design for a Gilt Leather Panel hails from the Dutch Golden Age around 1660–70, created an anonymous artist whose intricate work captures the era's love for lavish interiors. Depicting wreaths overflowing with fruit and flowers, it served as a blueprint for opulent gilt leather wall hangings—luxury panels of embossed leather coated in gold or silver leaf, popular in prosperous Dutch homes and grand European palaces. These designs evoked abundance and classical harmony, blending natural motifs with ornamental flair. As a small-scale print (just under 5 by 3 inc...