Design for a Frame, by Hans Holbein the Younger

Design for a Frame. Pen and black ink over chalk on paper, 15.4 × 10.4 cm, Kunstmuseum Basel.
The fluid style of this drawing shows that it comes from an early stage in Holbein's design process. The crosses on the faces of the cherubs indicate direction and foreshortening. The frame may have been for a miniature picture or a mirror, to be worn on a chain. The pearl drawn at the bottom reveals the small scale of the item, which would have been made by a highly skilled goldsmith (Foister, p. 84).