Two Designs for Plate Borders
19th century
Medium
Graphite, watercolor, gouache, and gold gilt. Framing lines in graphite.
Dimensions
sheet: 9 5/8 x 13 9/16 in. (24.4 x 34.4 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1953
Accession Number
53.675.29
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the refined world of 19th French decorative arts with *Two Designs for Plate Borders an exquisite anonymous drawing from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Elisha Whittelsey Collection. Created as preparatory sketches for elegant plate rims, these designs feature graceful portraits of women intertwined with blooming flowers—a nod to the era's Romantic fascination with beauty, femininity, and nature. Such border motifs were essential for luxury porcelain manufacturers like Sèvres, adorning fine tableware for the elite during France's booming decorative arts scene. The artwork masterfully...
About the Artist
Anonymous, French, 19th century · 1800–1900
**Anonymous, French, 19th Century (ca. 1800–1900)** The artist cataloged as Anonymous, French, 19th century embodies the enigmatic yet essential contributions of unidentified creators to France's vibrant 19th-century art world. Active roughly between 1800 and 1900, this figure—or potentially collective workshop—produced a diverse array of works amid the nation's transition from Neoclassicism thro...