Nouveau Livre de Desseins contenant les Ouvrages de la Joaillerie inventes et dessines par L. van der Cruycen en 1770, No. 6

Rectangular sheet of paper containing an engraving witha design for an aigrette, two designs for flower brooches, a design for a large bouquet brooch, and a design for a chatelaine that forms the sixth 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 aigrette consists of a hat motif adorned with three large feathers, budnles of flowers and leaves, ribbons, and a bowknot. Each of the two flower brooches contains a large flower surrounded by thin garlands of leaves that scroll around the flowers to form an oval shape. The large bouquet brooch contains a large stylized flower and stems with leaves and a variety of smaller stylized flowers, tied together by a ribbon knot. The design for a chatelaine contains three oval motifs with simple frames, framed by interlacing garlands of leaves and flowers, decorated with a ribbon that forms a bowknot in the bottom part of the design, from which a roundel is meant to hang. The oval motifs are rendered with shades to suggest some volume, and are possibly meant to be created by a cabochon precious or semi-precious stone in a fine metal setting. The deisgn contains only the suggestion of such a roundel, with a thin line forming a semi-circle traced below the ribbon bowknot.