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Drawing, Design for a Corsage Ornament: Night
This is a Drawing. It was designed by René Lalique. It is dated ca. 1900 and we acquired it in 1998. Its medium is brush and watercolor, graphite, brush and gouache on brownish, translucent wove paper, possibly coated with resin. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.
René Lalique explored allegorical themes in his jewelry designs, influenced primarily by depictions of the natural world in Japanese design of the period. This design for a corsage ornament depicts an allegory of time. Two female nudes—both personifications of Night—toss diamond stars into an evening sky conveyed by sapphires and diamond stars. This drawing is the only visual record of a lost fantastical jewel that was first presented at the 1900 l’Exposition Universelle in Paris. Displayed beneath a decorative canopy of stars and bats, the jewel cemented Lalique’s reputation as a preeminent designer of jewelry in the Art Nouveau style. His designs frequently incorporated flowers, insects, animals and nude forms using sumptuous materials, including gold, silver, diamonds, and pearls. But, like his contemporary Fabergé, he also helped popularize humble gemstones and materials such as enamel, jasper, ivory, coral, and glass. Actress Sarah Bernhardt was among the most famous wearers of Lalique’s highly-coveted jewelry.
This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled Design for Corsage Ornament.
It is credited Museum purchase from Drawings and Prints Council Fund through gift of The Florence Gould Foundation.
- Drawing, Design for a Nymph Comb
- brush and gouache, graphite on gray wove paper.
- Museum purchase through gift of Mrs. Gustav E. Kissel.
- 1950-6-5
- Drawing, Design for a Comb with "Flying Fish" Motif
- graphite, brush and watercolor, white gouache on brownish translucent wove....
- Museum purchase from General Acquisitions Endowment and Smithsonian....
- 1998-10-1
- Drawing, Design for a Necklace with Fish Motif
- graphite, brush and gouache, watercolor, pen and black ink on discolored wove....
- Museum purchase from Sarah Cooper-Hewitt Fund.
- 1994-29-1
Our curators have highlighted 5 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:
- Oran Vase
- glass.
- Gift of Stanley Siegel, from the Stanley Siegel Collection.
- 1975-32-8
- Drawing, Design for a Belt Buckle with Two Fish and Seaweed
- brush and watercolor and gouache; graphite on gray-green wove paper.
- Museum purchase through gift of Mrs. Gustav E. Kissel.
- 1950-6-7
- Drawing, Design for a Brooch
- brush and gouache, watercolor, graphite on blue-gray wove paper.
- Museum purchase through gift of Mrs. Henry B. du Pont.
- 1954-41-1
Its dimensions are
21.9 x 27.9 cm (8 5/8 x 11 in.)
It has the following markings
Watermark: B RIVES
Cite this object as
Drawing, Design for a Corsage Ornament: Night; Designed by René Lalique (French, 1860–1945); France; brush and watercolor, graphite, brush and gouache on brownish, translucent wove paper, possibly coated with resin; 21.9 x 27.9 cm (8 5/8 x 11 in.); Museum purchase from Drawings and Prints Council Fund through gift of The Florence Gould Foundation; 1998-50-1
This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibitions Making Design and Rococo: The Continuing Curve 1730-2008.
