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A woodcut showing the Emperor Maximilian in a triumphal chariot.
This large woodcut, over 2 metres in length, was originally planned as part of a huge printed frieze. The work, undertaken by a team of designers and woodblock cutters, was to show a triumph
Highlights from the print collection

An introduction to the print collection of the Royal Collection

WENCESLAUS HOLLAR (1607-77)

Shell

c.1645

RCIN 804575

The 4,000 prints by Hollar now at Windsor have been collected continuously since his lifetime. While much of his output is workmanlike, Hollar’s 37 etchings of shells are of great sensitivity, and the finest such depictions of the seventeenth century. Most of the shells are native to the Indo-Pacific, brought to Europe by traders and explorers to form part of an unknown collector’s ‘cabinet of curiosities’.  Few impressions of Hollar's shells are known and most show significant plate tone, suggesting that they are proof states towards an abortive publication.


    The income from your ticket contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity. The aims of The Royal Collection Trust are the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, and the promotion of access and enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational activities.