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Coat of Arms, London, March 20

1717 or 1718
Not on view
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.
This as-yet-unidentified coat of arms contains the motto Spes Nostra in Deo (Our Hope is in God). Its inscription also reveals that it is an early sheet made by Buchinger just after he moved to London, when his English was not quite polished. It says: “This Coat of Armes is Decind [designed] with a Pena [pen], by me.” The sheet also advertises some of Buchinger’s greatest abilities in drawing, including the winding floral ornament and the micrographic vase, which is actually the wine cup of Christian communion and is made up of the Lord’s Prayer.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Coat of Arms, London, March 20
  • Artist: Matthias Buchinger (German, Ansbach 1674–1739)
  • Date: 1717 or 1718
  • Medium: Pen and ink on vellum
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 8 in. × 12 1/2 in. (20.3 × 31.8 cm) (framed)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Collection of Ricky Jay
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints