Venus.

Engraving, 8,2 x 5 cm, laid paper, signed and dated with monogram at upper right corner (sm. tear in upper left corner, trimmed just within platemark).

Stuck under passe-partout.

Venus walking in profile to right, holding a large arrow and a burning heart. A pair of scales and a bull representing Libra and Taurus on the ground; from a series of seven engravings of the planetary gods as whole-length figures standing in landscapes with symbols of their respective signs of the Zodiac. Very rare early engraving by an unidentified German master who is sometimes associated with Georg Pencz. Good, early impression.
Ref. Bartsch VIII.304.15.
Prov. British Museum (sold in 1921 as duplicate, Lugt 305). - Richard Leenders (coll. stamp, Lugt 1708). - North Carolina Museum of Art (sticker on verso).