Design for a Frame with Interlacing Serpents

Drawing with a design for an oval frame, probably executed after a design created by a French jeweler in the 19th Century, 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. This design consists of an empty oval frame made up of two serpents that interlace around each other's tail. The design is executed with pencil but the manufactured jewel would have likely been created with gold or silver, stones, and possibly enamel. The design is of the style of the Second Empire in France in the mid-19th century, which featured naturalistic motifs decorated with recognizable fruits, and animals, and complex compositions of flowers and foliage. The designs often included diamonds and precious stones, as well as colored glass and other semi-precious stones.