It is soon Easter, and one of the symbols of the Resurrection of Christ is the Lamb of God, or Agnus Dei in Latin. The image of a lamb as a symbol for Christ are mentioned in several Biblical quotations, most notably in the Gospel of John: “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1, 29, King James Version). The image of the Lamb of God is perhaps best known as a prayer in several Christian liturgies (and as part of Easter decoration), but it also appears as a watermark motif!
Gerhard Piccard's watermark catalogue contains nearly 200 Agnus Dei watermarks. The oldest ones are dated to the 14th century, and the youngest to the 17th century, although the vast majority is from the 15th and 16th centuries. It seems that this watermark motif was first used in Italy: the watermarks from the 14th century are found in paper that is held in repositories in Pisa, Bologna and Ravenna. In the two following centuries it was also used in other parts of Italy, and to a lesser extend in north-eastern France. Its frequency of use decreases after the 1560s and was only used a few times in the 17th century in the area of today’s Germany.
The Agnus Dei watermark has various forms and shapes. They all have in common a lamb with a flag; some also contain a cross on the flagstaff. Many are inscribed in a circle or double circle (with or without a cross, crown or some additional letters). A small subgroup of the watermark is in the form of a coat of arms and a banderole with “Arnstad”. Arnstadt is a small town just south of Erfurt, Germany.
A version of the Agnus Dei watermark is found in an Icelandic manuscript, now held in the Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen: Thott 977 fol. from the end of the 17th century. Unfortunately, the watermark is very difficult to see because the pages are covered in text (and the library’s diffuse lighting, while perfect for reading the text, is sub-par for watermark research) but we can still detect with the Agnus Dei and a cross on the flagstaff, perhaps in a crowned double frame. Let us hope that we can take better images at some point and identify the watermark!
Further reading
Gerhard Piccard. Die Wasserzeichenkartei Piccard im Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart. 25 vols. Stuttgart 1961-1997.