Designs for Tail-Pieces: pl. 10
1730
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1730
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
This page shows five fancy coat-of-arms designs drawn in ink. One has a cat on a throne. Another looks like a shield with a fleur-de-lis. A third is a tall vase with a sunburst top. The lines are thin and precise, like they were scratched into metal first. These sketches were made to decorate the back of coats. The artist used a sharp tool to carve lines into a metal plate. Ink was rubbed over the plate, then pressed onto paper. Want to see how this works? Look up engraving.
![Dousieme livre des Oeuvres de J. A. Messonnier [<i>sic</i>] Livre de Chandeliers de Sculpture en Argent](https://pub-3a17a9933ad74fb28aa30fa758592f23.r2.dev/artworks/d48396ff912cb7bf/thumb.webp)