Design for a Sword-belt, Knife, and Stylus

Pierre Woeiriot was trained as a goldsmith, but is renowned for his work as an engraver and printmaker. His prints feature his own original renderings of portraits, biblical scenes, religious emblems, jewelry, and rapier hilts. This engraving of a sword-belt with elaborate mounts, the latter no doubt intended to be executed in silver or gilt bronze, is among his rarest prints. Most of the sheet is devoted to a detailed depiction of an ornate sword-belt consisting of a waist belt, a diagonal strap (called the side-piece or ceinturon), and a sword hanger, which comprises two loops called slings. Each of these elements is adorned with elaborate figural fittings and buckles. In use, the scabbard of a sword or rapier would be held securely in the slings, with the diagonal strap keeping the scabbard at the desired angle. The initials PW (for Pierre Woeiriot) appear on the blade of an axe, seen just to the left of the figure of a Roman warrior, which is found on the fitting at the top of the slings. Arranged horizontally in the bottom left quarter of the sheet, below the diagonal strap, there is a stylet or bodkin above a knife, each with a complex figural grip.