Designs for Four Rings, Plate 35 from 'Livre d'Aneaux d'Orfevrerie'
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Plate: 2 11/16 × 1 7/8 in. (6.8 × 4.7 cm) [oval plate-damaged at right] Sheet: 3 1/16 × 2 3/16 in. (7.8 × 5.5 cm) [cut]
Classification
Prints|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1926
Accession Number
26.57.53
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the intricate world of 16th French goldsmithing with *Designs for Four Rings*, Plate 35 from Pierre Woeiriot de Bouzey II's *Livre d'Aneaux d'Orfevrerie* (Book of Goldsmith's Rings), created in 1561. Woeiriot, a Mannerist engraver, painter and jeweler from Lorraine, produced this pattern book to share elegant ring designs with artisans across Europe. During the Renaissance, such books were essential tools, bridging the gap between elite court tastes and workshop production, showcasing the era's fascination with opulent jewelry as symbols of wealth and status. This delicate engraving...