Design
ca.1750 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Design for the top of a rectangular gold and enamel snuffbox, containing two blank ovals possibly designed by Jean Ducrollay (1709-after 1761) in about 1750. It was possibly for an elite client from the Court of Louis XV, King of France, from 1715 to 1774, at Versailles, Paris.
The designs are from an album of designs which date from about 1735-1820 and includes those for 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). The album was formerly full-bound in red morocco and the boards are stamped in gilt with the arms, now erased, of a member of the Bourbon family, probably Louis-Henri, Prince of Condé (1692-1740).
There is a close relationship between the contents of the album and known work by three Parisian goldsmiths, Jean Ducrollay (1710-1787), Pierre- François Drais (active 1761-1788), 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.
The designs are from an album of designs which date from about 1735-1820 and includes those for 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). The album was formerly full-bound in red morocco and the boards are stamped in gilt with the arms, now erased, of a member of the Bourbon family, probably Louis-Henri, Prince of Condé (1692-1740).
There is a close relationship between the contents of the album and known work by three Parisian goldsmiths, Jean Ducrollay (1710-1787), Pierre- François Drais (active 1761-1788), 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 | Pen and ink and wash on paper |
| Brief description | Design form album of designs by Ouizille, French, eighteenth century. NOT TO BE ISSUED WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE HEAD OF DESIGNS |
| Physical description | Design for the top of a rectangular gold and enamel snuffbox, containing two blank ovals. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Purchased with the assistance of Wartski Limited |
| Production | The design is similar to a box by Jean Ducrollay, 1749-50, in the Wrightsman Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, (Snowman, A. Kenneth. Eighteenth Century Gold Medal Boxes of Europe. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club, 1990. ill. 269-75). The drawings catalogued under the name of Ducrollay are all apparently by the same hand. They are tentatively given to Ducrollay on the basis that they show pieces known to have been by him. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Design for the top of a rectangular gold and enamel snuffbox, containing two blank ovals possibly designed by Jean Ducrollay (1709-after 1761) in about 1750. It was possibly for an elite client from the Court of Louis XV, King of France, from 1715 to 1774, at Versailles, Paris. The designs are from an album of designs which date from about 1735-1820 and includes those for 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). The album was formerly full-bound in red morocco and the boards are stamped in gilt with the arms, now erased, of a member of the Bourbon family, probably Louis-Henri, Prince of Condé (1692-1740). There is a close relationship between the contents of the album and known work by three Parisian goldsmiths, Jean Ducrollay (1710-1787), Pierre- François Drais (active 1761-1788), 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 references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.897:47-1988 |
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| Record created | May 31, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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