Design for a Knife Handle with a Couple Gathered Around a Fire at Bottom
1580–1600
Medium
Engraving and blackwork
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 1/4 × 1 3/16 in. (8.3 × 3 cm)
Classification
Prints|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1953
Accession Number
53.670.60
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate engraving by Johann Theodor de Bry, around 1580–1600, showcases the artist's skill in ornamental design during the late Renaissance. De Bry, part of a prominent family of engravers in Frankfurt, specialized in intricate prints that served as models for craftsmen. Titled *Design for a Knife Handle a Couple Gathered Around Fire at Bottom*, this sheet (just 3¼ × 1⅛ inches) was likely intended for goldsmiths or silversmiths fashioning knife hilts, blending functional utility with decorative flair. Rendered in engraving and blackwork—a technique using fine lines and dense cross-hatch...
About the Artist
Johann Theodor de Bry · 1561–1923
Comment on works: copper engraver