Morysse and Damashin renewed and increased, very profitable for Goldsmythes and Embroderars

Object Type
This print is an engraving, an image made by cutting lines into the surface of a flat piece of metal, inking the plate and then transferring the ink held in the lines onto a sheet of paper.

Subject Depicted
A modern transcription of the title of this set of prints might read 'Moresque and Damascene Patterns Suitable for Goldsmiths and Embroiderers'. Moresque was a term used in the later 16th century to describe a type of decoration for flat surfaces consisting of abstract, interlacing, formal, curling stem and leaf patterns, usually devoid of any human or animal presence. Damascening is a metalworking technique developed in the Middle East, whereby gold, silver and copper is inlaid into base metal. The word is derived from the place name, Damascus, in Syria. The type of designs used for damascene work were often moresque in style; they were frequently also applied to other types of objects.

There are two main elements to this design. One is an interlocking grid of plain flat bands marking out two shapes, either crosses with arms of equal length and pointed ends, or stars with eight points. The other element is a delicate pattern of scrolling leaves describing circles, arcs and curves. At first glance the design seems very complex but apart from slight variations to be expected in something drawn by hand, it is symmetrical along an invisible line connecting the midpoints of the two shorter sides, and repeats itself along the other axis. Anyone wanting to copy this pattern could easily extend it in either direction, as many times as required, to cover a surface of any size.

Cultural Associations
The English word 'Moor' stems from the Latin word Mauri, which referred to the inhabitants of the Roman province of Mauretania. This included parts of the modern states of Algeria and Morocco, although not the modern Islamic Republic of Mauritania. The word 'Moor' usually refers to a Muslim of mixed Arab and Berber origin, from North Africa or southern Spain. The Moors occupied most of the Iberian peninsula in the early 8th century, but were pushed back to Granada by the Christian kingdoms of northern Spain by the mid-13th and were finally expelled in 1492. Until the 18th century a black person was commonly referred to in Britain as a 'moor' or 'blackamoor'; most famously, Othello was 'The Moor of Venice'.