THEODOR DE BRY (attributedto)
1528-1598
122 Design for a Pendant Jewel
Pen and black ink and brown wash; H: 7.2 cm (2I3/i 4 in.);
W: 5.4cm(i^7 /8in.)
89.GA.2O
MARKS AND INSCRIPTIONS: On an old mount (re-
moved), inscribed de Bry in brown ink.
PROVENANCE: Private collection; sale, Christie's, Lon-
don, December 12, 1985 , lot 173; art market, Boston.
EXHIBITIONS: None.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: None.
THIS CLEVERLY CONCEIVED PENDANT DISPLAYS A DI-
minutive owl perched regally amid jewel-encrusted
vines. The drawing combines delicate yet vibrant linear-
ity with a sculptural application of wash. The owl motif
is reminiscent of some of the bird-frieze engravings of
Virgil Solis^1 and ultimately of the famous woodcut by
Durer or his circle, The Owl Attacked by Four Birds.^2 An
old mount is inscribed de Bry, an attribution which is
plausible in light of this artist's many engraved patterns
for jewelry and metal work, including a dagger handle
decorated with an owl among vines that dates from circa
1588.3- I. O'Dell-Franke, Kupferstiche unâ Radierungen ans der Werk-
statt des Virgil Solis (Weisbaden, 1977), nos. g 62, g 65, g 67, g
69, g 73- - J. D. Passavant, Le Peintre-graveur (Leipzig, 1862), vol. 3, no.
- C.-P. Warncke, Die ornaméntale Groteske in Deutschland
1500-1650 (Berlin, 1979), vol. 2, no. 535.
278 CENTRAL EUROPEAN SCHOOL • DE BRY (ATT RIB.)