Design for Knife Handles with Personifications of Peace and Faith 1580 - 1600

This is a design for knife handles with personifications of Peace and Faith, made by Johann Theodor de Bry around the turn of the 17th century. De Bry was working in a world where symbolic imagery still carried enormous weight. He was from Frankfurt, a place that was then part of the Holy Roman Empire, and which was in the throes of the Reformation. This was a society deeply divided along religious and political lines, with a dense network of civic institutions, like the print shop that De Bry ran. Notice how each handle contains an allegorical figure within an oval frame. Peace, on the left, appears to hold an olive branch, while Faith on the right, clutches a cross. Above the figure of Peace, putti are making music; above Faith, is the symbol of clasped hands, representing fidelity. De Bry’s image employs familiar visual codes to promote the virtues of social harmony and religious devotion. Studying this print involves delving into the history of early modern Europe, exploring the complex relationship between religious belief, political authority, and artistic production. It reminds us that the meaning of art is contingent on social and institutional contexts.