Newes Modelbuch in Kupffer (Page 15r) 1604

This is page 15r from Johann Sibmacher’s Newes Modelbuch in Kupffer, made in Germany at the turn of the 17th century. It’s an etching, so it would have been relatively cheap to produce, and that reflects its purpose: a book of patterns to be used for embroidery, a popular pastime for women of the merchant classes. The image is divided into horizontal bands. Each band is filled with geometric patterns based on squares and crosses. These are not free-form designs, but models that depend on the grid of the woven fabric. They reflect the growth of mercantile capitalism in Germany at this time. The modular system of this book is designed to make the production of art and craft more accessible and more efficient, as these designs could easily be replicated and adapted to different projects. The historian looks at the social and economic context of artistic production. This book is a wonderful resource for studying the gendered division of labour in the early modern period.