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Dotted print (criblée)

Dotted print / dotted manner / manière criblée / metalcut

A traditional technique of the goldsmith long before engraving for printing purposes was developed, criblée was also used to make the earliest metal prints on paper. Criblée was a method of dotting the plate with a hand punch; with punch and hammer; with a serrated, flatheaded tool called a matting punch; with various gouges; or, sometimes, with a hollow, circular-headed ring-punch. Criblée plates were relief printed like woodcuts. On most dotted prints, a black background dominates a fine lacelike design.

An early example of a dotted print (c. 1460–1470):

See also:
The British Museum

Related ILT article: Renaissance Metal

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