Joaillerie: Album of Jewelry Designs, Page 3

Third page of a small album containing drawings with jewelry designs copied after the prints by L. van der Cruycen, "Nouveau Livre de Desseins..." (New Book of Designs...), published in Paris in 1770. The designs in this page are for an two drop earrings, a girandole earring, a small brooch, a ribbon brooch, and anacanthus leaf ornament, all of them characteristic of the style in vogue during the reign of Louis XVI in France, 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 elaborately carved forms presented in the designs were particularly sought after during the third quarter of the eighteenth century, and were to be accomplished by skilled artisans who would work out the decorations by hand.
The first drop earring consists of a round pearl and a teardrop-shaped stone, both framed by two interlacing ribbons, which are joined together by a bowshape ribbon motif decorated with a small pearl in the middle. The second drop earring consists of a rosette with a pearl in the middle with a bowknot ribbon decorated with a small pearl from which a tear-drop motif, accomplished by ribbon-like strips possibly to be made out of metal, hangs.
The unfinished design for a girandole earring contains a naturalistic motif with branches of leaves and a bird, with the rest of the design left incomplete, showing only the lines of a circle over the motif and three hanging teardrop shapes with circle that would create the guidelines for a complete design. Van der Cruycen uses this engraving to illustrate the proportions required for the design of girandole earrings, and his engraving is fully copied in this drawing.
The small brooch consists of a small scrolling branch with leaves and two oranges, the ribbon brooch is made up of a ribbon that is tied to form a rosette, and the design for an acanthus leaf ornament, taken from the frame in Title Page of Van der Cruycen's album, consists of an oval-shaped motif created by scrolling acanthus leaves.
The designs in this drawing are copies after plates number 6 and 7 of the album of engravings by Van der Cruycen. Plate no. 6 has the design on the left and plate no. 7 the design on the right.