Cherubino Alberti (1552-1615), Designs for Knife Handles, after Francesco Salviati (1510-1563), two engravings. Reference: Bartsch XVII, 111. In generally good condition (one with a stain in blank space upper left, skinning on verso), trimmed on or possibly just inside the platemark, on laid paper with a (partial) Crown watermark, 9 3/4 x 4 1/2 inches.

Very good impressions of these fascinating and complex images.

These engravings were copied widely, with variations (particularly since they contain sexually explicit or prurient elements),  by many artists, perhaps most notably Peter Paul Rubens in drawings now held in a number of museums (cf., for example, Catalogue of the Collection of Drawings at the Ashmolean Museum, Italian Schools, Oxford, 1976, no. 683, pl. CLII).

Detail

Detail