Designs for Cartouches
Medium
Bound print
Classification
Bound print
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number
1921-6-230-31
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
**Designs for Cartouches** Gilles-Marie Oppenord1672–1742), a prominent French architect and decorator during the transition from Baroque to Rococo, created these intricate *Designs for Cartouches around the early 18th century. A bound print edition dated circa 1900 preserves his visionary ornamental motifs—elaborate, scrolling frames known as cartouches, often used to enclose coats of arms, inscriptions, or decorative panels in architecture and furniture. Housed in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection, this work was acquired through the Advisory Council's purchase, highlighting ...