Precious addition to DIVA's library
Proud to tell you a bit more about a recent addition to the Special Collections section of DIVA’s library: ‘Eléments d'orfèvrerie, divisés en deux parties de cinquante feuilles chacune composés par Pierre Germain marchand orfevre joaillier’ (Nr. OD-3011).
First published in Paris in 1748, the work contains 100 plates for elaborate silverware pieces by the Parisian silversmith Pierre Germain (1703-1783). This specific copy, in leather binding, is divided into two parts, but is to be considered as a whole and is an important record of French rococco silver designs. Many times reprinted, the plates influenced silversmiths in France and beyond until the end of the 19th century. We know for a fact that the renowned bibliophile goldsmith Pierre Joseph Jacques Tiberghien (1755-1810) in Ghent had a copy in his library. It confirms the importance of these designs abroad.
Copies (and variants) of the ‘Elements d’Orfèvrerie’ are in the collections of Getty, MET, BnF and INHA. You can find fully digitized versions of the plates online, but this copy is quite unique. These kind of plates mostly bear traces of different users and owners.
In our copy, the back sides of a few plates show sketches for silverware and French annotations in ink. Other plates have a collector’s stamp in blue ink. Further research will hopefully uncover more details about the maker of the sketches or reveal information about clients. The collector’s stamp has been identified as that of the Belgian architect Auguste (Félix) Schoy (1838-1885), who published ‘L'Art architectural, décoratif, industriel et somptuaire de l'époque Louis XVI’ (1868) in which he also included jewellery designs of L. Vander Cruycen!
Later this year our copy will be digitized and available online. DIVA will further research the history of this unique copy. These fascinating clues or elements will thus result in a more complete history of this important book of models.
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