A set of ten ink drawings with blue washes (light and dark) skilfully executed in a consistent style, each showing a single grotesque head, a few with scrollwork decorations attached. One has devil-like horns that look like they are formed from his own hair, another has ram-like curled horns, many have beards, nearly all have very large ears (sometimes faun-like), some show folds of fat while others are thin, and they show a wide variety of noses and lips (with mouths open or closed, some showing teeth). They may have been drawn as models for architectural or other ornamentation. One can see similar images in Stephen King's Nightmares in the sky: gargoyles and grotesques. Most of the heads are about 14 or 15 cm tall. The grotesque style became popular in the 16th-century, first in Italy and then throughout Europe, influenced in part by the discovery of the Emperor Nero's ca. AD 64 Domus Aurea, with its remarkable frescos.
With minor foxing, mostly in the margins but slightly affecting one drawn image: still in very good condition and with the margins only slightly trimmed (retaining all tranchefiles). An excellent set of ten grotesque heads drawn with great skill, artistry and humour. For the general style and its history: Frances Connelly, The grotesque in Western art and culture (2012).