Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F , Case EDUC, Shelf 9, Box F

Five German soldiers

Printing Plate
early 16th century (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Daniel Hopfer was an armourer (a maker of arms and armour) in Augsburg, Germany. Etching was one of the techniques used by armourers to decorate their manufactures. Hopfer is thought to have beeen one of the first craftsmen to print an etched plate on to paper. The earliest etching plates were made of materials with which armourers were familiar, such as steel, as here, or iron. By the time this etching plate was acquired by the V&A in 1910, someone had cut it down slightly from its original size.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleFive German soldiers (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Etched steel plate
Brief description
Etched iron printing plate. Daniel Hopfer. Five German Soldiers, early 16th century; Germany.
Physical description
Five soldiers in a row.
Dimensions
  • Height: 20.6cm
  • Width: 38.1cm
  • Plate thickness depth: 1mm (max)
Gallery label
Daniel Hopfer, an armourer of Augsburg, is thought to have been one of the first craftsmen to etch plates to print on paper. The earliest plates were made of steel or iron, the materials with which the armourers were accustomed to work. Copper plates were introduced in about 1520. Printmaking Techniques Gallery, Henry Cole Wing(1983)
Subjects depicted
Summary
Daniel Hopfer was an armourer (a maker of arms and armour) in Augsburg, Germany. Etching was one of the techniques used by armourers to decorate their manufactures. Hopfer is thought to have beeen one of the first craftsmen to print an etched plate on to paper. The earliest etching plates were made of materials with which armourers were familiar, such as steel, as here, or iron. By the time this etching plate was acquired by the V&A in 1910, someone had cut it down slightly from its original size.
Associated object
E.6292A-1910 (Version)
Bibliographic reference
Mills, Rosie, "Images in Steel: The Art and Craft of Etched Decoration", The Journal of the Antique Metalware Society, Vol. 19, June 2011, pp. 82-91, ill. p. 82
Collection
Accession number
E.6292-1910

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Record createdDecember 18, 2002
Record URL
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