THE RIVEN SHIELD

This engraving represents a presumed incident in a love-story, probably originating in the lines attached to the title, in the catalogue of the Royal Academy for 1866, when the picture was exhibited there:

                        “She loved me for the dangers I had passed,

                          And I loved her that she did pity them.” - Othello.

It is scarcely possible that Mr. Morris could have intended the composition as an illustration of a scene between the Moor and Desdemona, for there is nothing in the least suggestive of Venice apparent anywhere; a terraced garden like this, with trees of forest - growth rising from undulating ground, on the summit of which one has a glimpse of the upper storey of a noble mansion, is what neither Brabantio, nor even the Duke himself, could command within the circumference of the city and its immediate surroundings. We can only consider the picture as working out the same idea as that related by Othello, yet in another direction. A knight has set up his battered shield before his affianced lady, and explains to her where and how the “wounds and bruises” on it occurred; while she, holding his hand, listens very thoughtfully to the narrative, and “loves him for the dangers he had passed.” His pennon, giving some evidence, by sundry rents, of having encountered the battle and the breeze, he has brought to her for repairs.

        The materials of the composition are abundantly rich and luxurious, recalling, as a whole, the magnificence of Florence in her grandest days; the picture is poetic in conception, coloured with a brilliancy taught by the works of the old Venetian painters, and most pleasing in feeling and expression. ‘The Riven Shield,’ though a comparatively early picture of the artist’s, is one of very considerable merit in its varied qualities.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE

Antique prints, etchings, engravings, and lithographs are printing processes which use steel, copper, stone or wood blocks or plates to produce a picture on paper.

Most antique prints and engravings, which are seen on the internet today, are bookplates.  Because they are pages from a book, there are multiple copies in existence.  This does not, however, mean that they are "reproductions" that have been printed recently.  Because they were, at some point, part of books, some have been preserved in excellent condition, while others show signs of age, as yellow spots or darkness on the edge of the page from being handled.

Engravings, lithographs, ect. are high quality pieces of art, as it took a highly trained artist many hours of work to produce one.  Although there may be multiple copies still in existence, the date of the item should be stated in the auction, thus giving the buyer an idea of it's age.

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