Joaillerie: Album of Jewelry Designs, Page 8

Eighth 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. This page contains a design for a headpiece or diademe, 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 diademe contains interlacing garlands of leaves and flowers that frame three larger stylized flowers. Each one of the stylized flowers is different, which might suggest a possibility of different variants for the design, giving the customer or the goldsmith the opportunity to choose among the different options. However, because elaborate naturalistic motifs with all sorts of flowers and leaves was highly fashionable during the time, there is also a possibility that the use of three different types of flowers was how the design was conceived.
The design in this drawing is a copy after plate number 5 of the album of engravings by Van der Cruycen.