Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F , Case EDUC, Shelf 10D

Design

ca. 1750 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is a design for an engraved card from about 1750. The card may have been used as an invitation, a bond or a certificate. It would depend on the inscription printed within the cartouche. We do not know who the artist was, but the design is typical of the 'Rococo' style popular at the time. The presence of the ancient Roman goddesses Ceres and Pomona, together with the bales of corn, barrels, fruit and flowers, suggest that the person who ordered the card was connected to agricultural commerce, presumably in the town depicted in the shield. It is rare for a design for printed ephemera to have survived from the 18th century.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Pen and ink and wash, red chalk and pencil on paper
Brief description
Design for a printed card in pen and ink on paper, showing the Roman goddesses Ceres and Pomona alongside agricultural products. Unknown artist, about 1750.
Physical description
Design for a card in the form of a cartouche, on paper. Mounted to cream card with watercolour wash lines.
Dimensions
  • Height: 15cm
  • Width: 18.7cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
'Sir A. Heal' (On back, left; Pen and ink)
Subjects depicted
Summary
This is a design for an engraved card from about 1750. The card may have been used as an invitation, a bond or a certificate. It would depend on the inscription printed within the cartouche. We do not know who the artist was, but the design is typical of the 'Rococo' style popular at the time. The presence of the ancient Roman goddesses Ceres and Pomona, together with the bales of corn, barrels, fruit and flowers, suggest that the person who ordered the card was connected to agricultural commerce, presumably in the town depicted in the shield. It is rare for a design for printed ephemera to have survived from the 18th century.
Collection
Accession number
E.153-1998

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Record createdJanuary 22, 2001
Record URL
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