Nouveau Livre de Desseins contenant les Ouvrages de la Joaillerie inventes et dessines par L. van der Cruycen en 1770, No. 11

Rectangular sheet of paper containing an engraving with a design for a three-piece jeweled corset ornament that forms the eleventh 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 pieces of the design consist of an impressive jeweled stomacher and two corset brooches. The stomacher is made up of interlacing thin garlands of leaves, flowers and flower buds decorated with interlacing ribbons and knots of ribbon that form rosettes. There are three large rosettes on the upper part of the stomacher, and one on the bottom end. One of the brooches consists of a bowknot with a large rosette made up of ribbon that hangs from two ribbon strings, interlaced by two garlands, one of leaves and one of small flowers and leaves. The other brooch consists of a bowknot decorated with a pearl and a large stylized flower with several layers of petals, hanging from interlacing garlands. The engraving presents two alternatives for the interlacing garlands: on one side, a thin garland of small flowers and leaves interlacing with a string of bullet-shaped pearls; on the other, a thin garland of leaves and tiny pearls interlacing with a ribbon.