Horizontal Panel with Three Birds, from Varii Generis Opera Aurifabris Necessaria
ca. 1600
Medium
Engraving; first of two states (SKB)
Dimensions
Sheet: 1 5/16 × 1 15/16 in. (3.3 × 5 cm)
Classification
Prints|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1930
Accession Number
30.70.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Horizontal Panel with Three Birds a delicate engraving by Paul Birckenhultz from around 1600, captures the elegance of late Renaissance ornamental design. Measuring just 1 5/16 × 1 15/16 inches, this tiny sheet—part of the pattern book *Varii Gener Opera Aurifabrisaria* ("Various Works Necessary for Goldsmith")—served as a blueprint for artisans crafting intricate metalwork. Birckenhultz, a German engraver, specialized in such motifs, providing goldsmiths and silversmiths with precise templates for jewelry, vessels, and decorative panels. As the first state of a two-state print (before late...