unknown - Two vases - 1650–1700 - T-Shirt

A pen and ink study from the mid-to-late seventeenth century, showing two vase forms stacked one above the other, each drawn with precision and shadowed in dense cross-hatching.

Visual Elements & Composition

The sheet is built from paper cream and sepia brown ink, with dark umber in the deepest shadows. The upper vase is a footed cup with a flared rim, a deep bowl and a short stem on a stepped plinth. A cherub's face looks out from the centre of the bowl, flanked by scrolled volutes that curl outward, and a band of round medallions runs along the upper edge. Below it, the lower vase is a squat, rounded form with a broad stepped lip and a small ringed foot. Strong contrast between hatched shadow and clean highlight defines every edge, and each form is shown frontally so its profile reads at once.

Meaning & Symbolism

Vases like these belonged to the decorative vocabulary of the period, when ornamented containers stood in gardens, sat on architectural balustrades and furnished interiors. The cherub mask and scrolled handles place the vessel within classical and Baroque ornament, where a playful face and curling forms brought a plain object to life. Set side by side, the two shapes offer a range of options for a craftsman or patron to choose from. The even, deliberate hatching marks the sheet as a working model, drawn to convey shape and ornament accurately to the maker.

On the Unisex Tee

Pattern drawings were made to be studied closely, and a tee invites the same kind of attention. The artwork rests on the chest, where the cherub mask sits at eye level and the scrolls and medallions frame it. Each vase keeps its own outline, so the cup and the squat vessel read as distinct forms, and the cream and brown palette gives the print the quiet tone of an old sheet of drawings.