Designs with Sea Gods
- Object:
Print
- Place of origin:
Antwerp, Belgium
- Date:
1590 - 1610
- Artist/Maker:
Adriaen Collaert, born 1555 - died 1618 (designer)
Galle, Philip, born 1537 - died 1612 (Publisher) - Materials and Techniques:
engraving
- Museum number:
E.6-1923
- Gallery location:
Silver, room 68, case 9
This set of four designs by Adriaen Collaert (c.1560-1618) would have been used to decorate plates or spice bowls. Spice bowls were small dishes (around 30 cm.) used to present sweets at the end of a meal, and were usually made with gold or silver. The centre of each of Collaert’s designs shows a specific mythological figure associated with the sea. In each, a band around the central image shows fantastical scenes of sea monsters, mermen and nudes. Many of the surrounding figures emphasise the identity of the central figures. For example, Arion is surrounded by musicians while the border of the Venus plate shows lovers and young woman admiring herself in a mirror. Around the outer rim of each design is a different geometric design. If these images were ever implemented in the production of a dish, they would have been luxurious and fashionable objects.
