Firebacks

Description: Arched rectangular central panel with bead edging; pictorial scene of a figure in Roman dress, holding a large sword, and holding the head of a bearded man in his left hand; below to the left, a naked, decapitated body; above the winged face of a putto between mirrored, scrolled foliage; arched rectangular border with fillet edging; flowers in chain under the arch and down the sides; at the bottom, swirled foliage; on top, a crown between fruit triads.

Notes: Perseus holding the severed head of the Medusa; possibly adapted from a drawing by Crispijn de Passe the elder (1564-1637). Similarities in the design and execution of the pattern suggest a common source with contemporary English firebacks.