Design
1760-1780 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Design for a circular box top with a border showing three alternatives for the decoration of the outer border and mosaic (a method of decorating surfaces with patterns or pictures often composed of small pieces of coloured stone or glass). The alternatives are shown in the centre laid out on a grid, in pencil. The design was drawn by an anonymous designer in about 1760-1780 possibly for an elite client from the Court of Louis XV, King of France, from 1715 to 1774, or that of Louis XVI, King of France from 1774 until 1791, at Versailles, Paris.
The design 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.
The design 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.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Pencil, pen and ink 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 a circular box top with a border showing three alternatives for the decoration of the outer border and mosaic laid out on a grid in pencil in the centre. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Purchased with the assistance of Wartski Limited |
| Object history | The design was drawn by an anonymous designer in about 1760-1780 probably for an elite client from the Court of Louis XV, King of France, from 1715 to 1774, or that of Louis XVI, King of France from 1774 until 1791, at Versailles, Paris from which date he became King of the French until 1792 after the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 when the King and his family moved from Versailles. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Design for a circular box top with a border showing three alternatives for the decoration of the outer border and mosaic (a method of decorating surfaces with patterns or pictures often composed of small pieces of coloured stone or glass). The alternatives are shown in the centre laid out on a grid, in pencil. The design was drawn by an anonymous designer in about 1760-1780 possibly for an elite client from the Court of Louis XV, King of France, from 1715 to 1774, or that of Louis XVI, King of France from 1774 until 1791, at Versailles, Paris. The design 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.897:205-1988 |
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| Record created | June 5, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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