Lining Paper
ca. 1680-1688 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
A woodcut like this by an unnamed artist would have sold for much less than the etchings of The Five Senses by a famous printmaker such as Francis Cleyn (see, for example, E.713-1927). From the time they were first produced in Europe around 1400, woodcuts, even by famous artists, were cheaper than the best etchings and engravings.
Subject Depicted
The Five Senses are Sight (in the middle), Taste (top left corner), Smell (top right corner), Touch (bottom right corner) and Hearing (bottom left corner). The Senses are represented by a couple and, in all but one case, a winged cherub engaged in some activity related to the sense. For Sight, the woman is looking in a mirror, and for Taste, the man is offering the woman a fruit hanging on a tree. For Smell, the couple is smelling a rose, for Touch the man is holding the cherub up to the woman's breast, and for Hearing the couple and the cherub are playing on musical instruments. The artist has filled the space below the central circle with trumpets and drums relating to Hearing and with a quiver of arrows relating to Touch.
The artist has taken delight in using a variety of different patterns as part of the composition: black and white chequered floor tiles, arches of overlapping semicircles above Hearing and Touch, and a border of stylised leaves and flowers round the outside.
A woodcut like this by an unnamed artist would have sold for much less than the etchings of The Five Senses by a famous printmaker such as Francis Cleyn (see, for example, E.713-1927). From the time they were first produced in Europe around 1400, woodcuts, even by famous artists, were cheaper than the best etchings and engravings.
Subject Depicted
The Five Senses are Sight (in the middle), Taste (top left corner), Smell (top right corner), Touch (bottom right corner) and Hearing (bottom left corner). The Senses are represented by a couple and, in all but one case, a winged cherub engaged in some activity related to the sense. For Sight, the woman is looking in a mirror, and for Taste, the man is offering the woman a fruit hanging on a tree. For Smell, the couple is smelling a rose, for Touch the man is holding the cherub up to the woman's breast, and for Hearing the couple and the cherub are playing on musical instruments. The artist has filled the space below the central circle with trumpets and drums relating to Hearing and with a quiver of arrows relating to Touch.
The artist has taken delight in using a variety of different patterns as part of the composition: black and white chequered floor tiles, arches of overlapping semicircles above Hearing and Touch, and a border of stylised leaves and flowers round the outside.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Woodcut, ink on paper |
| Brief description | Lining paper with a design representing the Five Senses; Woodcut, ink on paper; Provenance: A travelling trunk dated 1688; English; ca. 1680-88. |
| Physical description | Lining paper with a design representing the Five Senses; Woodcut, ink on paper. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | British Galleries:
THE FIVE SENSES The Five Senses of Hearing, Sight, Touch, Taste and Smell were popular subjects throughout the 17th century. They are found on a wide variety of objects of varying quality. Artists and makers usually depicted them as people involved in appropriate activities. On the ceramic dish is Hearing, the embroidered panel for a casket portrays Taste and all Five Senses are shown on the lining paper for a trunk.(27/03/2003) |
| Object history | Printed in England by an unidentified maker. Said to have been used to line a box, dated 1688. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Object Type A woodcut like this by an unnamed artist would have sold for much less than the etchings of The Five Senses by a famous printmaker such as Francis Cleyn (see, for example, E.713-1927). From the time they were first produced in Europe around 1400, woodcuts, even by famous artists, were cheaper than the best etchings and engravings. Subject Depicted The Five Senses are Sight (in the middle), Taste (top left corner), Smell (top right corner), Touch (bottom right corner) and Hearing (bottom left corner). The Senses are represented by a couple and, in all but one case, a winged cherub engaged in some activity related to the sense. For Sight, the woman is looking in a mirror, and for Taste, the man is offering the woman a fruit hanging on a tree. For Smell, the couple is smelling a rose, for Touch the man is holding the cherub up to the woman's breast, and for Hearing the couple and the cherub are playing on musical instruments. The artist has filled the space below the central circle with trumpets and drums relating to Hearing and with a quiver of arrows relating to Touch. The artist has taken delight in using a variety of different patterns as part of the composition: black and white chequered floor tiles, arches of overlapping semicircles above Hearing and Touch, and a border of stylised leaves and flowers round the outside. |
| Bibliographic reference | Oman, Charles C., and Hamilton, Jean. Wallpapers: a history and illustrated catalogue of the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Sotheby Publications, in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1982. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.1135-1931 |
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| Record created | March 27, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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