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Collections

Unknown
Fourteen Ornamental Letters (C, D, I, Q)16th century

Not on view
Woodcut print of an ornamental letter C enclosing two intertwined nude infant figures, surrounded by white foliage and symbolic staff motifs on a black ground
Woodcut historiated initial letter D in black and white, filled with a reclining figure whose hair merges into swirling foliage; a sun face with radiating rays appears at center-left, surrounded by dense crosshatched scrollwork and floral border decoration.
Woodcut historiated initial letter I on dark ground, flanked by two crouching grotesque figures with human faces and serpentine lower bodies, surrounded by scrolling acanthus foliage and five-petaled flowers, fine hatched linework throughout.
Woodcut decorated initial letter Q with a robed figure holding arrows enclosed in a circular medallion, surrounded by scrolling foliage and small flowers in the corners, fine parallel-line hatching throughout
Woodcut printed initial letter C with two nude figures—a reclining adult and a small child—nestled within the circular letterform, surrounded by foliate and floral grotesque ornament on a dark hatched ground.
Woodcut printed initial letter D with a lion figure curled within the counter of the letter, surrounded by dense foliate and floral ornament on a black ground.
Woodcut historiated initial letter I on black ground, flanked by two symmetrical winged creatures with human faces amid dense scrolling foliage and open five-petaled flowers, within a ruled rectangular border.
Woodcut historiated initial letter Q, with a bearded male figure playing a stringed instrument enclosed within the circular bowl of the letter, surrounded by foliage and floral ornaments in the corners, rendered with fine hatched lines on black ground.
Woodcut initial letter C enclosing two nude figures — a reclining adult and a small child — set against a dark hatched background with foliate decorations in the corners, fine line engraving with dense cross-hatching
Engraved historiated initial letter D with fine hatching; a wild man or satyr figure with a human face and shaggy body crouches within the letter, surrounded by scrolling acanthus foliage and floral ornament on a stippled ground.
Woodcut historiated initial letter I on dark stippled ground, flanked by two symmetrical winged creatures amid scrolling acanthus foliage and five-petaled flowers, with fine hatched linework.
Woodcut initial letter O enclosing a crouching figure playing a wind instrument, surrounded by foliage and small flowers in the corners, with fine hatched linework.
Engraving of an ornamental letter C enclosing two nude figures reclining together, surrounded by foliage, pendant flowers, and grotesque ornaments in the corners, rendered with fine crosshatching.
Woodcut or engraving of an ornamental historiated initial letter I, white letter form against a dark ground, flanked symmetrically by two crouching creatures amid dense scrolling foliage and five-petaled flowers, fine hatched linework throughout
Artist or Maker
Unknown
Title
Fourteen Ornamental Letters (C, D, I, Q)
Place Made
Germany
Date Made
16th century
Medium
Woodcut
Dimensions
Sheet: 1 7/8 x 1 7/8 in. (4.76 x 4.76 cm) each
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Salzer
Accession Number
53.31.2.1a-n
Classification
Prints
Collecting Area
Prints and Drawings