Four designs for bracelets with stylized leaves, 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 two horizontal strips and a branch in the middle, separated from the framing strips by a round pearl on each side, which splits in two to form looping branches that interlace around the outer strips, forming three oval motifs that are filled by a large, oval pearl, and thin garlands with small, round pearls. The second design is made up of a bangle with a rectangular opening in the center, which is filled by a bundle of three large, stylized leaves and round pearls, tied together by a thin ribbon motif. The third design is made up of three oval loops, each containing a large, round pearl, flanked by four small, round pearls, and flanked to the sides by thinner, horizontally elongated loops, all formed by the same strip of metal, possibly to be made with stones, and with garlands and bundles of round pearls of different diameters that interlace around them; the body of the bracelet is made up of two thin tubes that start on the outer loops. The fourth design is made up of three strips of metal, possibly to be made with seamless strips of stones, separated by strips of round pearls or stones, and held together by a ribbon that loops vertically around them across the center of the bracelet, decorated with three square-cut brilliants or stones. 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 stylized leaves, 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(7)
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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