Embroidery Pattern with an Oblong Panel in its Center

Embroidery Pattern with an Oblong Panel in its Center

Albrecht Dürer

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Embroidery pattern made up out of so-called knot work. The main pattern has a circular shape and is presented in white on a dark ground. The knotted ropes or straps form three tiers surrounding the central motif which is an oblong panel, left blank. On all four corners another, leaf-shaped ornament has been added which sticks out of the circle. The leaves are filled with more knot work in white on the dark ground while swirling straps in black surround them.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Embroidery Pattern with an Oblong Panel in its CenterEmbroidery Pattern with an Oblong Panel in its CenterEmbroidery Pattern with an Oblong Panel in its CenterEmbroidery Pattern with an Oblong Panel in its CenterEmbroidery Pattern with an Oblong Panel in its Center

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.