Design for a Pendant (?) with Dancing Female Figures and Other Sketches of Female Figures

Drawing with a design for a pendant (?) and sketches of female figures, probably designed in the 1930s, part of an album of drawings by various artists for individual pieces of jewelry, containing a variety of designs in the Art Nouveau styles of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, as well as some pieces in historic period styles. The pendant consists of two elongated figures with long, sleek dresses with ruffled sleeves and borders, and short hair; their bodies seem to be in motion, probably dancing, and their arms cross above their heads and in front of their hips. The pendant would have hung, likely, from the crossing arms above. Their dress is of the silhouette typical of the early 1930s, suggesting that the design was also executed during that time. The design is executed with graphite, showing only the outlines of the design, but without any suggestions of color. The executed jewel, however, would have likely been very colorful and lively, and would have been created using a combination of stones and materials of different colors. The design reveals the aesthetic of late Art Nouveau jewelry style, designed, among others, by Rene Lalique, which drew inspiration from antiquity and japonism, abandoning the exclusive use traditional precious stones in the manufacture of jewels, and using, instead, a combination of gold, gemstones, semi-precious stones, mother-of-pearl, ivory and horn, enamel, and glass, to create colorful, powerful, and sinuous designs, often presenting animal and other figurative motifs.

To the left of the design is a nude female figure, shown from the hips up, with her straight hair falling behind her shoulders on her back. The figure is sleek and sinuous, typical of the Art Nouveau period, where the female body was often present as a decorative motif in different sorts of designs. Other smaller, unfinished sketches, possibly also of parts of female bodies, form part of the drawing.