Edmé Bouchardon, Design for jeton issued by the French navy (Marine) in 1747, showing a mariner's compass. Red chalk drawing, 1746.

Design for a jeton showing a mariner’s compass. The drawing has been cut out and laid down.

This drawing was probably formerly in the collection of P. J. Mariette (1694-1774). The medallist referred to in the note on the mount may have been either C. J. Roëttiers or his son C. N. Roëttiers, who were both working at the Paris Mint and both carried out Bouchardon's designs.

This drawing, together with E.100, 102-1959, was bought by the Museum from a collection of about 25 similar drawings, which had probably once belonged to P. J. Mariette, since some of them (like E.100-1959) are mounted in a manner characteristic of that collector, on blue paper with the artist's name on a scroll thought none of them is stamped with his mark. Some of these drawings may perhaps be identified with those described in Basan's catalogue of Mariette's collection (1775) under Lot 1143 (as by Bouchardon): "Douze sujets de forme ronde, premieres pensées de dessins, faits pour l'Académie des Inscriptions."

Bouchardon was appointed designer to the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in 1736, and he occupied the post until the year of his death. His task was to provide designs, not only for the various commemorative medals struck by the royal mint, but also for the jetons which certain departments of the state had long been accustomed to present to the king every year, a custom which had survived from the days when such jetons (or counters) were actually used for keeping the accounts.

The three designs acquired by the Museum may be accepted as original drawings by Bouchardon, whereas all those in the Bibliothèque Nationale are offsets and those in the Musée Monétaire appear , with one exceptions, to be copies made by the medallists in the course of carrying out the designs. The one exception is an original sketch by Bouchardon which is inscribed "Le cinq janvier, remis le dessein à M. Roitier, qui est celui qu'il fault exécuter", exactly the same type of note as we find on E.101, 102-1959.

For an account of Bouchardon's work as a design of medals and jetons see H. Bouchot's 'Bouchardon dessinateur en médailles', L'Art, Vol.32, 1883, pp.214-217 (with two illustrations of designs for jetons); A. Roserot's 'Bouchardon dessinateur de l'Academie des inscriptions et Belles-Lettres', Réunion des Sociétés des Beaux-Arts, Vol. 19, 1895, pp.609-613; and F. M. Mazerolle's 'Le dessins de médailles et de jetons attributes au sculpteur Edmé Bouchardon', ibidem, Vol.22, 1898, pp.349-358."

E.101-1959