Frieze with Scrolling Foliage, Lion and Grotesque Masks

An etched ornamental frieze on laid paper shows a dense band of acanthus-like scrolls across the top, with a crouching lion at right and a row of grotesque lion-masks below. Fine hatched lines model the foliage and animal, framed by plain borders on a pale sheet.

Artist

Stefano della Bella

Date

ca. 1645

Medium

Etching on laid paper

Source

Smithsonian (Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum)

Size

1600 × 844 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Smithsonian Institution, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum