Nouveau Livre de Desseins contenant les Ouvrages de la Joaillerie inventes et dessines par L. van der Cruycen en 1770, No. 3

Rectangular sheet of paper containing an engraving with designs for girandole earrings and jewels that forms the third page for a book of jewelry designs invented and created by L. van der Cruycen in 1770. The book, titled "Nouveau Livre de Desseins contenant les Ouvrages de la Joaillerie..." (New Book of Designs containing the Jewelry Works), contains a series of jewelry designs displaying a serendipitous flavor, with asymmetrical forms, "rocaille" and stylized natural motifs, and heavily decorated with flowers, ribbons and tassels, thus representing the taste of the Rococo style, which was fashionable in France and Europe during the eighteenth century. The designs present elaborately carved forms that were particularly sought after during the third quarter of the eighteenth century, which were to be accomplished by skilled artisans who would work out the decorations by hand. The use of various categories of jewelry design in one single sheet suggests an economical use of space for the publication of the book, which was probably intended for distribution among goldsmiths and silversmiths that would reproduce the objects from the drawings. It is also likely that many of the designs are real-sized.
The plate contains eight different designs for girandole earrings and three designs for small jewels, possibly brooches to decorate the bodice or to be worn as hair accessories. Girandole earrings were highly fashionable during the eighteenth century, and their creation required the use of fine metals and precious or semi-precious stones, as well as great handcrafting skills. All the designs for girandole earrings presented in this plate contain a plain roundel and three hanging teardrop motifs, without any decorations framing them, and the changes can be seen in the middle area. Most of them contain different sorts of naturalistic motifs, with stylized flowers, leaves and fruits, and one of them contains a bowknot motif. The smaller brooches contain naturalistic motifs as well, one of them with a cornucopia containing a small bouquet of flowers and leaves, another with a trophy motif with arrows surrounded by thin garlands of leaves, and the third one with a ribbon that ties around a garland of leaves and flowers.