St. James

This apostle standing within an architectural niche come from a set of twelve. James holds a device called a carding bow, used to break up clumps of fiber prior to its being spun into thread. The bow is a version of the report that he was killed with a fuller’s club, a spiked tool also used for separating and cleaning fibers. Van Meckenem often made prints based on designs by other artists. This engraving follows now-lost drawings by Hans Holbein, the elder, and recalls decorations on the exterior of altarpieces, where the paintings are made to look like sculptures.