Emblem in Early Modern Europe: Contributions to the Theory of the Emblem

The emblem was big business in early-modern Europe, used extensively not only in printed books and broadsheets, but also to decorate pottery, metalware, furniture, glass and windows and numerous other domestic, devotional and political objects.

At its most basic level simply a combination of symbolic visual image and texts, an emblem is a hybrid composed of words and picture.

However, as this book demonstrates, understanding the precise and often multiple meaning, intention and message emblems conveyed can prove a remarkably slippery process.