Eleven Plates of Designs for Jewelry
Anonymous, French, 19th century French
Not on view
Eleven plates with designs for jewelry in the style of the Second Empire (1852-1870), characterized by extravagant motifs with complex compositions of naturalistic jewelry, composed of clearly recognizable foliage, flowers and fruit. 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 designs presented on each plate consist of necklaces, bracelets, hair ornaments, brooches, rings, earrings, fans, and other jewels, often adorned with stylized flowers and leaves, scrolling motifs, ribbons and bows, and figurative animals, executed with white, red, yellow, shades of green, and gray over a black or gray ground, and possibly intended to be manufactured using a combination of yellow gold and silver, possibly platinum, diamonds or brilliants, pearls, rubies and other (semi-) precious stones.
