Engraved horizontal frieze with animals acting as humans among scrolling foliage, including a roasting scene and a seated creature at right.

Two Frieze Ornaments: Animals Reversing Human Roles

A narrow horizontal engraved frieze shows small animals in human roles amid scrolling foliage. A hare-like figure stands at left beside a rodent-like creature, while a central roasting scene and a seated animal at right suggest a topsy-turvy world.

Artist: Israhel van Meckenem (mentioned on object)
Date: 1455-1503
Medium
Source: Rijksmuseum
Size: 4000 × 2995 px

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Public domain · Rijksmuseum marks it Public Domain Mark; made by 1503.
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: Public Domain Mark (Rijksmuseum, image license https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/)

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

15th century engraving rijksmuseum ornament frieze german printmaking hare foliage scrolls