Queyr (1592) Emblema XII Copperplate Engraving

Artist: Queyr.
Title: Emblema XII. 1592
Medium: Copperplate Engraving on Laid Paper.
Image Size: Height 8.2 cm x Width 9.6 cm.
Provenance: Private Collection France.
Condition: Good condition trimmed close to the margin. (Note: this item is not framed but is mated with acid-free mount board)

About: An engraving from Io. Mercerii I.C. Emblemata, Page 17. A publication of emblems (allegorical illustrations) with accompanying explanatory text, typically morals or poems. This category of books was popular in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. Emblem books are collections of sets of three elements: an icon or image, a motto, and text explaining the connection between the image and the motto. The text ranged in length from a few lines of verse to pages of prose.

Emblem books descended from medieval bestiaries that explained the importance of animals, proverbs, and fables, writers often drew inspiration from Greek and Roman sources such as Aesop's Fables and Plutarch's Lives. Many of the symbolic images present in emblem books were used in other contexts, on clothes, furniture, street signs, and the façades of buildings.