Ein new getruckt model Büchli...Page 16, verso 1529

Curator: This woodcut, “Ein new getruckt model Büchli…Page 16, verso” by Johann Schönsperger the Younger, dates from 1529. Editor: My first impression is just the sheer dedication that would be needed for such exacting and laborious work! It almost hums with contained energy. Curator: Indeed. These aren’t just geometric forms; they are emblems loaded with symbolic potential. Think about the historical context. Each geometric motif—the diamond, the cross—could represent deeply held cultural beliefs, possibly invoking protection or prosperity. Editor: Well, considering this book’s function was as a pattern book for embroidery, it feels important to view the work as tied to women’s labor. We see it operating in workshops or in the home. The cost of the materials – thread and cloth, dye - would speak to access and privilege too. Curator: Absolutely, but those crafted textiles could be imbued with meaning by the makers – a language spoken silently through stitch and pattern. The cross, repeated within those diamonds, goes beyond pure decoration. Doesn't it resonate with a deeper, almost primal spiritual grounding? Editor: It is, I suppose, unavoidable. Yet to prioritize that aspect feels ahistorical in that it sidelines the economic reality in favor of attributing intentions we cannot really confirm. Curator: But perhaps both intentions intertwine. Craft serves function but elevates, through considered design, our emotional experience. Isn’t that visible here, even across centuries? Editor: Yes, though my instinct leans toward the tactile element: to envision the feel of the block as the burin carves the design, the pressure to achieve clean impressions on each print... To hold such a precious volume of possible templates now - the amount of craft work it made possible must be considered a type of abundance. Curator: Reflecting on it, both utility and symbolic significance create a multi-layered historical experience within each carefully printed page. Editor: Agreed, and it is a real treat to have a work that lends itself so clearly to these combined but distinct modes of enquiry.