Design for a Ewer with Mars and Venus,

ca. 1569

In the sixteenth century, wealthy patrons collected elaborate silver and gold vessels for display and use at great banquets. The vessels often featured classical themes, such as Mars, Venus, and Cupid, shown here in the central lozenge. This design for a silver ewer is part of a series of fifty-five drawings in the Museum’s collection by a member of the workshop of Erasmus Hornick, a famous goldsmith and printmaker who worked in Antwerp, Augsburg, Nuremberg, and Prague. These drawings are replicas of original designs by Hornick, which he published as etchings in pattern books or sold directly to other craftsmen after they had served their function as presentation models.