Design
ca.1740-1745 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Printed geometrical pattern for a box lid. This 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. This print was made by an anonymous designer in the early 1740s and it is 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).
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.
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 | Copperplate engraving 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 | Geometrical pattern for a box lid. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Purchased with the assistance of Wartski Limited |
| Production | Attribution note: This 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. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Printed geometrical pattern for a box lid. This 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. This print was made by an anonymous designer in the early 1740s and it is 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). 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.897:89-1988 |
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| Record created | May 31, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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