
Blackwork Print with a Roundel with Tendrils and Birds Above Two Ovals, from a Series of Blackwork Prints for Goldsmiths' Work
Etienne Carteron
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
Blackwork design with a roundel at center with birds perched on tendrils, stylized flowers, and pea-pod elements. On top, a winged female figure holds two horns and is presented with wreaths. At bottom left, an oval with foliate scrolls. At bottom right, an oval with the Judgment of Solomon. Plate 2 from a series of eight plates published in Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne (Ain) with blackwork designs for goldsmiths' work.
Drawings and Prints
An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art
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.