Image of Gallery in South Kensington
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Horizontal ornament with hop vine

Engraving
1475-1485 (engraved)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Engraving


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleHorizontal ornament with hop vine (popular title)
Materials and techniques
engraving on laid paper
Brief description
Martin Schongauer. Horizontal ornament with a hop vine. German, about 1480.
Physical description
Engraving
Dimensions
  • Cut to height: 8.6cm
  • Cut to width: 11.9cm
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
Signed with the monogram 'M+S' in the lower centre of the plate. (The monogram of Martin Schongauer appears at the bottom of the print in the centre. The monogram consists of Schongauer's initials and a goldsmith-like hallmark composed of a small cross plus the crescent from his family's coat of arms. This signature occurs in two forms: a few plates, apparently all done in the early 1470s, have an M with vertical sides; the majority, as in this example, have an M with slanting sides. (The Illustrated Bartsch, Vol.8 Part 1, pg. 1).)
Historical context
The second of Schongauer's nine prints designed for pure ornament is much larger than the first and represents a vigorous hop vine, which Bartsch mistook for mulberry foliage, a mistake that Ottley corrected. Hops, of course, are a critical ingredient in the brewing of beer, and were a cash crop in fifteenth century Germany and Alsace. (The Illustrated Bartsch; 8 Commentary, Part 1; .108; pg. 270).
Subject depicted
Bibliographic references
  • Jane C. Hutchinson, ed. The Illustrated Bartsch, 8. Early German Masters, Albrecht Altdorfer and Monogrammists. New York: Abaris Books, 1981, no. 116.
  • Bartsch, Adam von, 'Le Peintre Gravure', Vienna, 1803-1821; Volume VI, B.115, pg. 165
  • Lehrs, Max, 'Martin Schongauer, The Complete Engravings, A Catalogue Raisonne', catalogue no. 108, pg.330
  • Stogden, Nicholas (Ed.)., Hollstein’s German, engravings, etchings and woodcuts, ca. 1450-1700 (Rotterdam: Sound and Vision Publishers, 2004): vol. LIX, Ludwig Shongauer to Martin Schongauer, no.108.
Collection
Accession number
18956

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Record createdJuly 8, 2008
Record URL
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