Lithograph with designs for Second Empire jewelry

Lithograph with designs for nineteenth-century jewels in the style of the French Second Empire (1852-1870), which was characterized by extravagant motifs with complex compositions of naturalistic jewelry, composed of clearly recognizable foliage, flowers and fruit, and often presenting frames or roundels with female figures dressed with draped, neoclassical clothes. In many cases, the colors of gemstones used in the creation of the jewels were meant to match those in nature; cabochon gems were popular elements to create complexity in curving and figurative designs, often with symbolic meanings. The plate contains designs for brooches, pendants, earrings, and bracelets, all with semi-abstract geometric motifs, palmettes, and stylized shells, colored with brown and a light shade of green, possibly to denote the use of enamel in the finalized jewel. Most designs also include stones of green or blue shades, which would have likely been emeralds, turquoises, or aquamarines, in the finalized jewels.