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Ten designs for pendants

Print
mid 16th century, before 1573
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Hans Collaert made many designs for pendants and other jewellery during the second half of the 16th century. This series of ten pendant designs by Collaert was published first by Hans I Liefrinck before 1573 and later by Theodoor Galle, after Collaert’s death. The ten pendants in this collection are accompanied by designs for buttons or earrings and set against a grey background. Five of the pendants contain a mythological figure in a niche. With the exception of the title plate, the ones that lack these figures are probably verso designs for similar pendants, though no two outlines in the suite are the same. The jewellery that would result from these designs was probably meant to be gold with bright enamel paint on the intricate design work and the figures that appear in the niches. In similar jewellery, the arabesque ornamentation around the figures was usually open and the figures themselves three dimensional.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleTen designs for pendants (series title)
Materials and techniques
engraving
Brief description
Hans Collaert (after); one print from a suite of ten including a title plate showing designs for pendants with dieties, architectural spaces and flower-arabesques against a grey background. Murray Press, Tray 1b.
Physical description
design for a pendant with an architectural interior and a figure of diana within; hung with three pearls and accompanied by two cross-shaped ornaments on either side
Dimensions
  • Height: 13.6cm (cut to)
  • Width: 8.4cm (cut to)
corners trimmed
Object history
For a pendant based on this design concept and roughly contemporary to the Collaert series, see 44.441 and 44.442 in the Walter’s Art Museum collection, a piece which shows Diana and apparently based on 22766.3 in the V&A collection. For a further example of this style of design and vivid enamel work, see OA5630 in the Louvre’s collection. (F. Allitt)
Summary
Hans Collaert made many designs for pendants and other jewellery during the second half of the 16th century. This series of ten pendant designs by Collaert was published first by Hans I Liefrinck before 1573 and later by Theodoor Galle, after Collaert’s death. The ten pendants in this collection are accompanied by designs for buttons or earrings and set against a grey background. Five of the pendants contain a mythological figure in a niche. With the exception of the title plate, the ones that lack these figures are probably verso designs for similar pendants, though no two outlines in the suite are the same. The jewellery that would result from these designs was probably meant to be gold with bright enamel paint on the intricate design work and the figures that appear in the niches. In similar jewellery, the arabesque ornamentation around the figures was usually open and the figures themselves three dimensional.
Bibliographic reference
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.
Collection
Accession number
E.1191-1923

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
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