Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level D , Case EO, Shelf 120

Ten designs for pendants

Print
mid 16th century, before 1573, 1604
Artist/Maker
Hans Collaert (designer)
Hans Collaert (engraver)
Hans Liefrinck (publisher)
Theodoor Galle (publisher)
Place of origin
Antwerp

In the sixteenth century, goldsmiths and engravers started to favour architectural designs for jewellery. Hans Collaert, one of the leading ornament engravers in Antwerp in the mid sixteenth century, participated in this move towards architectural pendant designs, as demonstrated in this set of ten designs. The images that do not include architectural elements are probably meant to serve as the verso for similar pendants. Arabesque designs that decorate these images could have been made with enamel paint or through open metalwork. The numbering on this plate indicates that it is a posthumous edition of the series originally printed by Hans Liefrinck.


Object details
Category
Ornament Prints
Object type
Print
Materials and techniques
engraving
Brief description
Hans Collaert (after), plate from a suite of ten, including title plate, showing designs for jewellery with architectural elements and vegetal-arabesques. Flemish, mid-sixteenth century.
Physical description
Design for a pendant verso with grapevine arabesques and accompanied by a design for a pair of fan shaped ornaments.
Dimensions
  • Height: 13.6cm (cut to)
  • Width: 8.6cm (cut to)
Marks and inscriptions
  • "H.C" (lower left )
  • "3" (lower right )
Object history
Pendants with architectural decoration can still be seen in various collections, including the British Museum. WB149, for example, though it is a German piece, shows a shared an interest with architectural elements exhibited in the Collaert designs.
Summary
In the sixteenth century, goldsmiths and engravers started to favour architectural designs for jewellery. Hans Collaert, one of the leading ornament engravers in Antwerp in the mid sixteenth century, participated in this move towards architectural pendant designs, as demonstrated in this set of ten designs. The images that do not include architectural elements are probably meant to serve as the verso for similar pendants. Arabesque designs that decorate these images could have been made with enamel paint or through open metalwork. The numbering on this plate indicates that it is a posthumous edition of the series originally printed by Hans Liefrinck.

Bibliographic references
  • Hollstein, F.W.H., Ann Diels, Marjolein Leesberg, Arnout Balis, and Collaert. The new Hollstein Dutch & Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts, 1450-1700 The Collaert Dynasty / comp. by Ann Diels and Marjolein Leesberg; ed. by Marjolein Leesberg and Arnout Balis. The New Hollstein Dutch & Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts, 1450-1700. Ouderkerk aan den IJssel: Sound & Vision Publishers, 2005.
  • Tait, Hugh. Catalogue of the Waddesdon Bequest in the British Museum; I The Jewels, London, BMP, 1986. Accessed via The British Museum Website, www.britishmuseum.org, 10/02/2012.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
22735

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O644862/ten-designs-for-pendants-print-hans-collaert/
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