Nouveau Livre de Desseins contenant les Ouvrages de la Joaillerie inventes et dessines par L. van der Cruycen en 1770, No. 2

Rectangular sheet of paper containing an engraving with five designs for jewels, including a design for a comb, an unfinished design for a girandole earring, a design for a medallion, a design for an aigrette, and a bouquet design for a brooch, that forms the second page for a book of jewelry designs invented and created by L. van der Cruycen in 1770. The book, titled "Nouveau Livre de Desseins contenant les Ouvrages de la Joaillerie..." (New Book of Designs containing the Jewelry Works), contains a series of jewelry designs displaying a serendipitous flavor, with asymmetrical forms, "rocaille" and stylized natural motifs, and heavily decorated with flowers, ribbons and tassels, thus representing the taste of the Rococo style, which was fashionable in France and Europe during the eighteenth century. The designs present elaborately carved forms that were particularly sought after during the third quarter of the eighteenth century, which were to be accomplished by skilled artisans who would work out the decorations by hand. The use of various categories of jewelry design in one single sheet suggests an economical use of space for the publication of the book, which was probably intended for distribution among goldsmiths and silversmiths that would reproduce the objects from the drawings. It is also likely that many of the designs are real-sized.
The design for a comb contains 12 teeth held together by a curved line that might have been decorated with square-cut precious or semi-precious stones. The center of this curved line is flanked by a flower that stands over two stems, and the design presents two different alternative decorative motifs for the comb, showing the efficiency of designers in their presentation of designs and possibilities of design to goldsmiths and their clients. To the left of the middle flower, the comb contains an undulating garland of stylized leaves, flowers and flower buds that interlaces with an undulating ribbon; to the right, the comb contains an undulating garland of flowers and flower buds that interlaces with a garland of large stylized leaves that almost resemble the look of acanthus leaves.
To the right of the design for a comb stand two images illustrating the "Principes de Girandoles" (principles of girandole earrings), as evidenced by the inscription that accompanies them. A teardrop shape is encased within a rectangular shape with vertical and horizontal lines, as well as smaller teardrop shapes and circles, to illustrate the proportions required for the design of the earrings. To its left, an unfinished design for a girandole earring is included to further illustrate the way in which the design should be made: A naturalistic motif with branches of leaves and a bird is fully engraved, but the rest of the design is left incomplete, showing only the lines of a circle over the motif and three hanging teardrop shapes with circle that would create the guidelines for a complete design.
The medallion consists of an oval-like shape, shaded to illustrate some volume, framed by a garland of leaves and small spheres probably trying to imitate the shape of oranges or a similar fruit.
The design for an aigrette contains two feathers with a ribbon that ties around them on the bottom to form a bowknot, flanked above by a palmette decorated by strings of small pearls and a horizontal small garland of leaves with a small flower in the center. This could have been worn to decorate the bodice or the hair of the wearer.

The design for a bouquet brooch contains two feathers and several branches with leaves and flowers of different sizes, as well as a large flower, possibly resembling a camelia, tied together by a ribbon that forms a bowknot on the bottom right of the design. This impressive brooch could have been worn to decorate the body or used as an ostentatious accessory for the hair.