Design for a Dagger Sheath with Flemish Grotesques
Cornelis Bos Netherlandish
Not on view
Design for the decoration of a dagger sheath with candelabra grotesques. From top to bottom the candelabra contains two satyrs crowning an eagle under a canopy supported by terms, a mask, two seated satyrs, a censer above a cornucopia, two small harpies facing outward and a larger harpy with a palmette crown. Strapwork elements are used to structure the candelabra. Cornelis Bos began to execute more prints with this kind of grotesque decoration after his departure from Antwerp in 1544. The idea to apply them to dagger sheaths may have been inspired by a two-year stay in Nuremberg between 1546 and 1548.
