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Unknown Maker, Italian

Knot Pattern (The Fifth Knot)

Maker

After Unknown Maker, Italian

Culture

Italian

Title

Knot Pattern (The Fifth Knot)
The Fifth Knot

Year

ca. 1495-1498

Medium

  • Engraving on cream laid paper

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Engraving on cream laid paper

Materials

null, engraving

Supports

  • null,
  • medium weight cream wove paper

Dimensions

Plate: 26.4 x 19.8 cm (10 3/8 x 7 13/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Marks: Vincent Mayer collector mark in brown ink on verso (lugt 2525).Alfred Morrison collector mark in black ink on verso (lugt 151).Unidentified mark in violet on verso (lugt 2368b).British Museum Printroom collector mark in black ink on verso (lugt 305 & 303).HANDBOOK: The word portrayed in the center of this elaborate engraving---"Vi(n)ci"---may allude to two things---the birthplace of the artist Leonardo da Vinci and the Latin verb vincire, 'to bind.' Da Vinci probably created the design for the print, one of six knot patterns associated with him and subsequently engraved by an unknown artist. The knot pattern held a theoretical interest for Da Vinci and his artistic coterie in Mantua. A knot conveyed both clarity and complexity while providing an elegant metaphor for the concept of infinity. Da Vinci also revered the circle as the most perfect geometric shape. The intricate, dark background of the engraving required the engraver to cut the plate with painstakingly dense hatching.

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Works of Art Fund

Object Number

47.666

Type

  • Prints

Publications

  • Books

Object of Ornament: European Design

  • Books

Selected Works

Exhibition History

The Brilliant Line
Following the Early Modern Engraver, 1480-1650
Sep 18, 2009 – Jan 03, 2010
Engravings of the 15th and 16th Centuries
Nov 10, 1948 – Feb 04, 1949

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

After Unknown Maker, Italian
Knot Pattern (The Fifth Knot); The Fifth Knot, ca. 1495-1498
Engraving on cream laid paper
Plate: 26.4 x 19.8 cm (10 3/8 x 7 13/16 inches)
Museum Works of Art Fund 47.666

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