Album of Bit Designs
The album has a 19th century binding covered in marbleized paper that contains twenty-two engravings consisting of a dedication page and twenty-one pages of designs for horse bits. The engravings are printed on a heavy cream colored laid paper with no visible water marks. The dedication page features an impresa of a rearing horse with a long set of lead reins held by a gloved hand that emerges from a cloud. Above this there is a scroll with the motto Industria et Patienzia. The horse is flanked on each side by a colonnade decorated with military trophies and equestrian statues. The dedication is in a cartouche at the bottom center of the page and reads Questo Libro / ha invientato ed delineato con / mano propria per suo gusto et utile / de tutti gli Cavalieri amatori de l'Arte / Cavalereska. Il Illustrissimo Siore Siore / Rodolpho Francesco di Talmberg Cam / eriere et Capitaneo di Cavalieria / di Sua Maiesta Imperiale / Anno i.6.7.4. At the top of the cartouche is the coat of arms of von Talmberg on a crowned shield: a pair of leaves (Seebläter) on naturalistic stalks curved to form a heart shape. The design on each of the following twenty-one pages depicts the left profile of a curb bit, showing the cheek or shank of the bit from the headstall ring to the rein or curb ring. The outline of each bit and the ornament decorating it varies on each engraving. The bit on page one is decorated near the center with the von Talmberg coat of arms, as found on the dedication page. The dedication page is not numbered; the pages with bit designs are numbered from one to twenty-one in pencil in the lower right hand corner of each page.
Artwork Details
- Title: Album of Bit Designs
- Designer: Rudolf Franz Ferdinand von Talmberg (Bohemian, ca. 1645–1702)
- Date: 1674
- Culture: Bohemian
- Medium: Ink on paper
- Dimensions: Covers: 14 1/2 x 9 3/4 in. (36.8 x 24.8 cm); sheets: 14 1/4 x 9 1/2 in. (36.2 x 24.1 cm); plates: approx. 12 1/4 x 4 in. (31.5 x 10 cm)
- Classification: Works on Paper-Prints
- Credit Line: Purchase, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund; Joseph M. Scheuner and Kenneth and Vivian Lam Gifts; and Bequest of Stephen V. Grancsay, Rogers Fund, Helmut Nickel Gift, and funds from various donors, by exchange, 2013
- Object Number: 2013.590
- Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor
More Artwork
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Related Content
Perspectives
Articles, audio, and video from The Met's online magazine.
Publications
Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.
Free to download
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.