Lozenge-shaped Pendant and Two Triangular Motifs in a Riverscape

Lozenge-shaped Pendant and Two Triangular Motifs in a Riverscape

Giovanni Battista Costantini

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Print from a series of six with goldsmith's designs in blackwork. This print shows a design for three elements of goldsmith's work, placed in a riverscape with two waterbirds. In the center a lozenge-shaped pendant in is presented, surrounded by organically-shaped openwork. On both sides there are two reed plants in which a triangular motif is incorporated. The motifs are placed in a riverscape with two waterbirds in the foreground.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Lozenge-shaped Pendant and Two Triangular Motifs in a RiverscapeLozenge-shaped Pendant and Two Triangular Motifs in a RiverscapeLozenge-shaped Pendant and Two Triangular Motifs in a RiverscapeLozenge-shaped Pendant and Two Triangular Motifs in a RiverscapeLozenge-shaped Pendant and Two Triangular Motifs in a Riverscape

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.