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Documentary archive
Research & history
The plates, portraits and objects from which each Sévigné jewel is drawn, period by period. Every document is shown whole, as it has come down to us.
Louis XIV · 1643–1715
The goldsmith’s drawing
A first precise corpus: Gilles Légaré and Louis Cossin. Their engravings show the jewels, sometimes their backs — invaluable for understanding how crosses, clasps and bracelets were built.
Next research: Compare fronts and backs of the pendants; record the clasps.
Sources
Gilles Légaré Book of goldsmiths’ works
1663
RijksmuseumLouis Cossin Crosses, bracelets and clasps
1663
BnFJean Petitot Madame de Sévigné, miniature
v. 1670
Louvre
Documents · Louis XIV
Louis XV · 1715–1774
Pouget’s Treatise
In 1762 Pouget fils engraved seventy-nine plates of parures on the Quai des Orfèvres. Girandoles, bows, bouquets: the Maison’s first archive, studied plate by plate.
Next research: Measure the girandoles of plate 14; compare with pieces in the Louvre.
Sources
Pouget fils Treatise on precious stones, pl. 14
1762
BnF GallicaPouget fils Bows and rosettes, pl. 33
1762
BnF GallicaManufacture de Sèvres Column vase, bleu céleste
v. 1760
Walters
Documents · Louis XV
Plate 14Seven girandolesPouget fils, 1762, Hand-coloured etching.
Plate 33Bows and rosettesPouget fils, 1762, Hand-coloured etching.
Plate 30Rings in garlandsPouget fils, 1762, Hand-coloured etching.
FrontispieceThe jeweller’s allegoryPouget fils, 1762, Etching.
ObjectColumn vase, bleu célesteManufacture de Sèvres, v. 1760, Porcelain, gilt bronze.
Louis XVI · 1774–1792
The neoclassical parure
Garlands, ribbons and oval medallions. Van der Cruycen’s plates and Vigée Le Brun’s portraits fix the Queen’s taste — light rivières, articulated bows.
Next research: Identify the “esclavage” necklaces; record the medallions’ proportions.
Sources
Van der Cruycen Plate III · Studies of girandoles
1770
The MetVan der Cruycen Plate X · Necklaces
1770
The MetVigée Le Brun Marie-Antoinette with a Rose
1783
Versailles
Documents · Louis XVI
Napoléon · 1804–1815
The imperial parures
Cameos, palmettes and laurel leaves. Nitot delivers the coronation parures; the Regent is set into the Emperor’s sword. Drawing becomes architecture.
Next research: Consult the Nitot files; verify the attributions of the diadems.
Sources
Nitot The Empress’s parure
1810
ChaumetArchives nationales Accounts of the Emperor’s Household, O²
1804–1814
PierrefitteLe Régent Diamond, 140.64 ct
1717
Louvre
Documents · Napoléon
Louis XVIII · 1814–1824
The return of flowers
Trembling bouquets and open-back settings. The workshops of the rue de la Paix revive the previous century’s motifs — lighter, mounted on springs.
Next research: Compare Pouget’s bouquets with Restoration brooches.
Sources
Mellerio Dated drawings 1814–1824
1814–1824
Archives MellerioMusée des Arts décoratifs Maciet collection, jewellery
XIXe
Paris
