Design
ca.1770-1790 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This is one of two designs for a fan mount pasted on to a single page. Fans were fashionable personal accessories, carried by women as part of their dress. The design is for a fan mount, made about 1770-1790, possibly for an elite female client of the Court of Louis XV, King of France from 1715 to 1774, or of Louis XVI, King of France from 1774 until 1791, at Versailles, Paris. The design is possibly by the goldsmith Pierre-François Drais, who was active around 1761 to1788. It is from an album of designs which date from about 1735-1820 and include snuffboxes, scent holders, watches and watch cases, spoons, fans and fan mounts, small swords, and chatelaines (ornamental chains, pins, or clasps usually worn at a woman's waist, to which trinkets, keys, purses, or other articles are attached).
There is a close relationship between the contents of the album and known work by three Parisian goldsmiths, Jean Ducrollay (1710-1787), Drais, and Charles Ouizille (1744-1830) whose names appear on the first page of the album. This suggests that all the designs emanate from their workshops. Drais worked for the Court at Versailles as jeweller to both King Louis XV and Louis XVI. Ouizille worked in this capacity for Louis XVI. Most of the material dates from the period 1755-90.
There is a close relationship between the contents of the album and known work by three Parisian goldsmiths, Jean Ducrollay (1710-1787), Drais, and Charles Ouizille (1744-1830) whose names appear on the first page of the album. This suggests that all the designs emanate from their workshops. Drais worked for the Court at Versailles as jeweller to both King Louis XV and Louis XVI. Ouizille worked in this capacity for Louis XVI. Most of the material dates from the period 1755-90.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Hand-coloured copperplate engraving on paper |
| Brief description | Engraved design for a fan, possibly by Pierre-François Drais, Paris, ca.1770-1790 |
| Physical description | Engraved design for a fan mount on a piece of paper over the top half of which (26) is stuck |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | 'Draiss [illegible inscription] execute' (In pen and ink at bottom left.) |
| Credit line | Purchased with the assistance of Wartski Limited |
| Production | Attribution note: The print is a copperplate engraving made for the private use of goldsmiths. It could serve as an aid to producing further designs by modification in pencil, or could be used as a base to try out enamel or gold colours. It could also be shown to potential customers. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This is one of two designs for a fan mount pasted on to a single page. Fans were fashionable personal accessories, carried by women as part of their dress. The design is for a fan mount, made about 1770-1790, possibly for an elite female client of the Court of Louis XV, King of France from 1715 to 1774, or of Louis XVI, King of France from 1774 until 1791, at Versailles, Paris. The design is possibly by the goldsmith Pierre-François Drais, who was active around 1761 to1788. It is from an album of designs which date from about 1735-1820 and include snuffboxes, scent holders, watches and watch cases, spoons, fans and fan mounts, small swords, and chatelaines (ornamental chains, pins, or clasps usually worn at a woman's waist, to which trinkets, keys, purses, or other articles are attached). There is a close relationship between the contents of the album and known work by three Parisian goldsmiths, Jean Ducrollay (1710-1787), Drais, and Charles Ouizille (1744-1830) whose names appear on the first page of the album. This suggests that all the designs emanate from their workshops. Drais worked for the Court at Versailles as jeweller to both King Louis XV and Louis XVI. Ouizille worked in this capacity for Louis XVI. Most of the material dates from the period 1755-90. |
| Bibliographic reference | Heike Zech, 'Designs for Gold Boxes in the Album of the Workshop of Jean Ducrollay and his Successors', in Going for Gold: craftsmanship and collecting of gold boxes, ed. Tessa Murdoch and Heike Zech (Sussex academic press, 2014). |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.897:25-1988 |
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| Record created | May 31, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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