Titelblad: Frises propres pour les orfévres, sculpteurs, marqueteurs c. 1670 - 1685

This print, made by Paul Androuet Ducerceau, is a design for ornamental friezes, those decorative bands you often see in architecture or furniture. The process here is key. This isn't a unique artwork but a template, etched with acid into a metal plate, ready to be inked and printed many times over. Look closely, and you can see the delicate lines created by this intaglio process. Its purpose was dissemination, allowing artisans across different crafts – goldsmiths, sculptors, and marquetry makers – to incorporate these fashionable motifs into their own work. The print is a fascinating example of how design ideas circulated in the early modern period, impacting labor and production. By providing a ready-made design, Ducerceau streamlined the creative process, influencing the look of luxury goods and the ways in which craftspeople worked. It's a reminder that even seemingly decorative elements are deeply intertwined with the wider social and economic context of their time.