Six designs for brooches with scrolling branches, pearls, and stylized flowers and leaves
Not on view
Six drawings in graphite of designs for brooches, 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 bundle of long, thin, scrolling stylized branches, a stylized flower, and thin branches with round pearls; a smaller version of the design is executed under it, probably intended as an earring (?) to be worn with the brooch. The second design is made up of a large C-curved scroll with brilliants, formed around a large, round, faceted stone, and framed by a thin, scrolling branch with stylized leaves and three oval, faceted stones hanging from it. The third design is made up of three overlapping scrolls, a bundle of stylized leaves and branches with round pearls, and three hanging strips of alternating small, stylized leaves and oval pearls, ending in thin spades of gold. The fourth design is made up of a bundle of interlacing branches with stylized leaves and strips of round pearls. The fifth design is made up of an oval frame with scrolling motifs, holding a bundle of stylized leaves and thin branches with round pearls. The sixth design consists of an escutcheon containing a semi-abstract garden trophy, framed by an interlacing motif with tiny round pearls, with a ribbon bow on the upper part, scrolling ears to the sides, a semi-abstract fleur-de-lis motif below, and three hanging chains of oval rings. 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.