Faint Sheet: Head, Frieze, Interlace Knots, and a Jotting
Very faint metalpoint and pencil studies with a single line of mirror-writing
This much-faded leaf carries a loose scatter of light studies: a small frontal head near the centre, an ornamental band with a meander (Greek-key) frieze above a hatched panel, several interlace and figure-eight knot motifs at the right, and a tilted bowl-like form at the lower left. A single faint line of mirror-writing runs across the middle, transcribed as a short phrase added in pencil with the sheet turned on its side. Because the drawing is so pale, several marks remain hard to read and further untranscribed jottings may be present.
On this page
Small frontal head
A youthful head is lightly drawn near the centre of the sheet, seen from the front. Only the eyes, hair and the general oval of the face are worked up; the rest dissolves into the faded ground.
Meander frieze and interlace knots
At the upper right a decorative band shows a meander (Greek-key) pattern above a hatched panel, like a frieze or parapet. Further to the right sit several interlace and figure-eight knot motifs.
Diamond lattice grid
Below the frieze a regular diamond lattice is ruled out, a net of crossing diagonal lines. It reads as a geometric grid related to the sheet's ornamental patterns.
Single line: 'Tell me how things have come to pass'
A faint line of mirror-writing crosses the middle of the sheet. The transcription gives it as a short phrase, added in pencil with the sheet turned ninety degrees.