A system that enables the pictorial specification of queries in an image database is described. The queries are comprised of rectangle, polygon, ellipse, and B-spline shapes. The queries specify which shapes should appear in the target image as well as spatial constraints on the distance between them and their relative position. The retrieval process makes use of an abstraction of the contour of the shape which is invariant against translation, scale, rotation, and starting point that is based on the use of Fourier descriptors. These abstractions are used in a system to locate logos in an image database. The utility of this approach is illustrated using some sample queries.