1617. Engraving, 7″ x 9″. Double hemisphere projection of the world, by Giovani Antonio Magini, from atlas published in Arnhem, Netherlands. Framed in carved compound mitered frame in fumed and oiled quartersawn white oak. Face of frame is 3-1/2″ wide, with coved back sweeping out another 5/8″; 2-1/4″ deep. Pale gold slip.
See more process photos here…
The frame is not a reproduction and we certainly made no attempt to deceive by trying to make it look like something it isn’t—an antique. The object was as it always is in frame making: to create a living and harmonious architectural place for the picture. Removed from the “frame” that is an atlas, a substantial place in the world, the map risked being overlooked and lost. Another way of saying that is that it would cease to matter. And we couldn’t have that. More than 2″ deep, the frame provides the two dimensional image a place in the solid, three-dimensional world. It does not just surround the print but encases it. The frame’s massiveness, though, is mitigated by sustaining in its design the print’s fine decorative detail. The design of the carved patterns came out of close study and response to the spirit of pattern-making and ornament in the print.
More on this piece and the frame…
