Plate from Book of Vases
18th century
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Plate: 13 7/8 × 8 15/16 in. (35.3 × 22.7 cm) Sheet: 17 11/16 × 13 in. (45 × 33 cm)
Classification
Books|Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1954
Accession Number
54.513.2(4)
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite etching, *Plate from Book of Vases*, hails from 18th-century France, a golden era of Rococo exuberance. Created by Jacques de La Jou the Younger, a master of ornamental design, and published by Chez Huquier, it forms part of a printed book of vase motifs intended for artisans crafting luxury decorative arts like ceramics, furniture, and silverwork. These design books were essential tools, disseminating fashionable patterns across Europe and fueling the opulent tastes of the aristocracy. The artwork showcases the Rococo style's playful elegance through intricate etching—a printm...