[E] Emblem by Andrea Alciato entitled ‘On the avaricious’ (1531)

This is from the first emblem book by Andrea Alciato. Emblem books, an early modern source type, were a highly visual kind of educational print item that contained symbolic woodcuts or engravings on every page. These images were accompanied by two texts, a short motto, and an explanatory paragraph in verse or prose. Image, motto, and explanation were meant to be carefully contemplated by the reader, in a meditative reading exercise.