Coffre à Bijoux
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number
1921-6-310-51
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
**Coffre à Bijoux** (*Jewelry Box*), a print created by Jean François Forty between 1774 and 1788, captures the elegance of late 18th-century European decorative arts. Active from 1775 to 1790, Forty was part of a vibrant printmaking tradition during the waning years of the French Rococo and the rise of Neoclassicism. This period saw opulent luxury items like jewelry boxes as symbols of wealth and refinement among the aristocracy, just before the upheavals of the French. As a print—though its specific technique remains under study—this work likely served as a design template or reproductive i...