Printer's Mark of Sébastian Nivelle c. 16th century

Editor: This is an anonymous printer's mark for Sébastien Nivelle. The composition, with its circles and rectilinear forms, is very striking. What do you make of it? Curator: Consider the central image—two pelicans piercing their breasts to feed their young. Observe the meticulous rendering, the sharp lines creating a symbolic form. What does it signify? Editor: Sacrifice, maybe? How do the surrounding images and text relate to the pelicans? Curator: Precisely. The images, enclosed in circles, and the Latin text, function as visual and textual elaborations on the central theme, creating a dense layering of meaning. Editor: So the overall structure reinforces the message through both image and text. Fascinating! Curator: Indeed.