'Etuy a tambour' thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level E , Case SB5, Shelf SH6

'Etuy a tambour'

Design
ca.1770 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Sketch designs (3 on one sheet) by an anonymous designer, about 1770, firstly for a scissors case, secondly for two étuis, which are small ornamental cases for carrying personal articles such as needles, and thirdly for the top unit of a chatelaine (ornamental chains, pins, or clasps usually worn at a woman's waist, to which trinkets, keys, purses, or other articles are attached). The design for the étui on the left is for tambouring which is a form of embroidery done by stretching fabric over a tambour frame and embroidering it with thread on a tambour hook. It was a fashionable past-time for the aristocracy at this period.

The designs are for elite female clients possibly of 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 include those for snuffboxes, scent holders, watches and watch cases, spoons, fans and fan mounts, small swords, and chatelaines.

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
Titles
  • 'Etuy a tambour' (assigned by artist)
  • 'Ciseaux' (assigned by artist)
  • 'Crayons' (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Pencil, pen and red ink on paper
Brief description
Design from album of designs by Ouizille, French, eighteenth century.
NOT TO BE ISSUED WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE HEAD OF DESIGNS
Physical description
Sketch designs (3 on one sheet) for two étuis, a scissors case and the top unit of a chatelaine. There are other drawings on the back.
Dimensions
  • Height: 20.5cm
  • Width: 14cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • ''Etuy a tambour' (In pen and red ink beneath the design on the left.)
    Translation
    Etui for tambouring
  • 'Ciseaux' (In pen and red ink beneath the cemtral design)
    Translation
    Scissors
  • 'Crayons' (In pen and red ink beneath the design on the right.)
    Translation
    Pencils
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of Wartski Limited
Subjects depicted
Summary
Sketch designs (3 on one sheet) by an anonymous designer, about 1770, firstly for a scissors case, secondly for two étuis, which are small ornamental cases for carrying personal articles such as needles, and thirdly for the top unit of a chatelaine (ornamental chains, pins, or clasps usually worn at a woman's waist, to which trinkets, keys, purses, or other articles are attached). The design for the étui on the left is for tambouring which is a form of embroidery done by stretching fabric over a tambour frame and embroidering it with thread on a tambour hook. It was a fashionable past-time for the aristocracy at this period.

The designs are for elite female clients possibly of 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 include those for snuffboxes, scent holders, watches and watch cases, spoons, fans and fan mounts, small swords, and chatelaines.

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 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.897:179-1988

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Record createdJune 5, 2006
Record URL
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