Strapwork Pendant with Two Birds as Earrings at Left and Right 

Daniel Mignot created this engraving of a strapwork pendant in Germany around the year 1600. The print gives us an idea of the kind of elaborate jewelry worn by the upper classes of the time, and how ornament served as a signifier of status. The design itself, with its symmetrical arrangement of stylized, interwoven bands, reflects a broader cultural interest in geometric patterns and classical forms during the Renaissance. It's worth noting that Mignot was working in the context of the Northern Renaissance, where artists and designers often looked to classical antiquity for inspiration, but reinterpreted those forms in a uniquely Northern European way. As historians, we can look at prints like these as valuable primary source documents. By studying the visual culture of a particular time and place, we can gain insight into the social values, beliefs, and aspirations of the people who created and consumed these images. The study of costume books and jewelry design catalogues gives us a better understanding of the culture of display in the early modern period.