Design for a Bookplate or a Glass Etching Gm-00028301

Virgil Solis (German, 1514–1562) The harp on the shield of the coat of arms indicates that the elderly king with flowing locks and beard on top of a helmet is the biblical King David. The abbreviation O.H.L. might refer to a family name or a motto, while the V.S.was one of several monograms used by the artist Virgil Solis. Scholars do not know the exact purpose of this design, but they believe it may have been made for a bookplate or an etching on glass.

Drawings for objects such as tapestries, metal vessels, oil lamps, and furniture exist from the 1500s onwards in far greater numbers than from earlier eras. Scholars believe that this substantial increase suggests not only the important role of drawings in the design process but also their new prestige as collector's items. Drawing was an essential tool for the communication of an artist's ideas to patrons and craftsmen.