Nov 03, 2016 - Sale 2429

Sale 2429 - Lot 23

Price Realized: $ 20,000
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 12,000 - $ 18,000
ALBRECHT DÜRER
Coat of Arms with a Lion and a Cock.

Engraving, circa 1503. 185x120 mm; 7 1/4x4 3/4 inches. A superb, dark, richly-inked Meder b impression with very strong contrasts, with the horizontal scratches lower left distinct and with no sign of wear, consistent with the earliest impressions of this engraving. Small jar watermark (Meder 158, which he dates to around 1525). With narrow to thread margins outside the border line.

Dürer's first engraved coat-of-arms; he made one other in addition to several woodcuts like this subject. This arms was likely not intended for a specific family, but rather a creation of pure fantasy by Dürer; the elaborate foliage and additional details allowing him to display his virtuoso engraving skills. Bartsch 100; Meder 97.