Four designs for bracelets with pearls and stones
Four drawings in graphite of designs for bracelets, in the style of the French School of the 19th century, designed for the French jewelry company Mellerio-Borgnis. Each drawing was created on a separate sheet of semi-transparent paper, all adhered to the same page of the album. The first design is made up of a bangle that splits into three thin tubes in the center, which interlace to form three diagonal ovals knots, each filled by a diagonal strip of round pearls, and with round pearls outside their intersections. The decond design is made up of a bangle with an opening in the center filled by a thin garland of stylized leaves and square-cut brilliants or diamonds, and with scrolls that interlace to form a sort of knot that frames the garland. The third design is made up of a large, oval frame with a bundle of stylized leaves, groups of round pearls, and square-cut brilliants of different sizes, flanked to the sides by a smaller bundle of stylized leaves and round pearls, inside trapezoidal frames of metal that form the body of the bracelet. The final design is made up of a bangle with an opening in the center around which a braid is formed with strips of metal decorated with strips of square-cut brilliands; a diagonal oval pearl adorns the center of the braid. The physical jewels from these designs would have likely been manufactured using gold or silver, and probably using brilliants, diamonds, or other (semi-) precious stones to add color and shine to the designs.
Artwork Details
- Title: Four designs for bracelets with pearls and stones
- Artist: F. Mellerio Borgnis
- Date: ca. 1830–70
- Medium: Graphite heightened with gray wash
- Dimensions: Sheet: 11 3/4 × 8 3/8 in. (29.9 × 21.2 cm)
Album: 8 11/16 in. × 12 in. × 1 3/8 in. (22 × 30.5 × 3.5 cm) - Classifications: Albums, Drawings, Ornament & Architecture
- Credit Line: Gift of Raphael Esmerian, 1957
- Object Number: 57.662.4(6)
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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