Design for a Pendant, Brooch, or Belt Buckle with Figurative Oceanic Motifs
Drawing with a design for a pendant, brooch, or belt buckle, probably designed between the 1900s and the 1930s, part of an album of drawings by various artists for individual pieces of jewelry, containing a variety of designs in the Art Nouveau style of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, as well as some pieces in historic period styles. The design consists of an oval frame made up of two stylized fish, each biting the other's tail, with square scales on their bodies, and scalloped tails and fins. Inside the frame are scrolling coral motifs, which also stand outside the frame on the upper and lower parts of it. To the right side of the jewel are smaller drawings of figurative motifs related to it, including three semi-circular motifs with round hat-like motifs, and two different types of coral, one rendered with lines, and the other with small, oval bumps. This design was likely intended to be a brooch, pendant or belt buckle, according to its shape, and reveals the aesthetic of late Art Nouveau jewelry style, designed, among others, by Rene Lalique, which drew inspiration from antiquity and japonism, abandoning the exclusive use traditional precious stones in the manufacture of jewels, and using, instead, a combination of gold, gemstones, semi-precious stones, mother-of-pearl, ivory and horn, enamel, and glass, to create colorful, powerful, and sinuous designs, often presenting animal and other figurative motifs.
Artwork Details
- Title: Design for a Pendant, Brooch, or Belt Buckle with Figurative Oceanic Motifs
- Artist: Anonymous, French, 19th century
- Date: ca. 1900–1940
- Medium: Graphite on brown, semi-transparent paper
- Dimensions: Sheet: 11 15/16 × 8 7/16 in. (30.3 × 21.4 cm)
Album: 14 3/16 in. × 11 in. × 9/16 in. (36 × 28 × 1.5 cm) - Classifications: Albums, Drawings, Ornament & Architecture
- Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1953
- Object Number: 53.670.30
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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