Engraving; an example of how an illustration can clarify obscure decoration of a complex design on the Gold Ewer from the Pritzker Collection.

I was asked to illustrate objects for an exhibition called the “Cultural Exchange along the Silk Road: Masterpieces of the Tubo Period (7th -9th Century)” that had been organized by the Dunhuang Academy and the Pritzker Collaboration for an exhibition at Dunhuang Academy, China. The drawings were used within didactic material which was printed on the gallery walls and included in the graphics on the introductory panels, some of the imagery for the final poster and various media outputs.

Objects with so much detail need careful study and for lack of being able to see the pieces in person, I used a series of high resolution photographs to draw the animal and bird engravings individually and then incorporated them into the final digital illustration; in this particular example, the gold ewer that was on display.

It takes time, but the oveall result is as close a representation of all the detail as is possible and afterall, was a rare opportunity to study something so exquisite.