Plaquettes 1500-1600: Germany
Plaquettes are small plaques made of bronze, brass, lead or precious metals. They originated in the 1440s with the desire to reproduce coins and hardstone engravings from ancient Greece and Rome. Some were made as collector's pieces, to be viewed and displayed in private, and others for practical purposes. They also inspired designs in other media, from architecture to bookbindings.
Here the art of plaquette making emerged in the south, in Nuremberg and Augsburg, about 1510-20. The plaquettes had the same multiple purpose as their Italian predecessors. They were used mainly by goldsmiths and in bronze foundries, but also by cabinetmakers. The models were carved in wood, stone, slate and wax, then reproduced in bronze and lead.

'The Adoration of the Magi', plaquette
'The Adoration of the Magi'
Plaquette (obverse view)
Anton Eisenhoit (1553/4-1603)
About 1587-8
Germany (Warburg)
Lead
Museum no. A.13, 14-1932
Given by Dr W.L. Hildburgh FSA
Anton Eisenhoit was born in Warburg in Westphalia but spent several years in Rome working as an engraver. He became one of the most prolific goldsmiths in northern Germany.
View the reverse of this relief
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Design and the Decorative Arts: Tudor and Stuart Britain 1500-1714

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