
Read the visual description
This is a drawing of a heraldic emblem with accompanying Latin script. The drawing features two distinct coats of arms. On the left, a shield with swirling patterns is topped by a knight's helmet, adorned with heraldic mantling and a small embellishment. To the right, the shield displays three diagonal stripes and is surmounted by a depiction of an imaginary creature, akin to a dragon or griffin, adorned with heraldic decoration. The entire scene is framed within a simple black border, set against a plain background. Below the illustration, a line of Latin text in elegant script is visible.
National Gallery of Art · Print
Bookplate of Wilhelm von Zell
German 15th Century
- Date
- in or after 1500
- Medium
- woodcut on laid paper mounted on laid paper
- Dimensions
- sheet: 8.5 × 7.6 cm (3 3/8 × 3 in.) mount: 17.1 × 18.7 cm (6 3/4 × 7 3/8 in.)
- Classification
- Accession number
- 1943.3.647
- Credit line
- Rosenwald Collection
- Time span
- 1401 to 1500
- Department
- CG-E
Subjects and terms
- animal
- Shield
- Suabian
- Writing
Provenance
Probably Carthusian Library, Buxheim; Martin Aufhäuser [1875-1944], Munich, Holland, and Los Angeles; [1] purchased 19 August 1939 by Lessing J. Rosenwald, Jenkintown, PA (L1760c and L1932d); gift to NGA, 1943. [1] For complete information on Aufhäuser's collection, see Rosenwald Papers, box 9, and Richard S. Field, _Fifteenth Century Woodcuts and Metalcuts_, Washington, D.C., 1965, Preface (np).
NGA object ID 3861. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.