Writing box

Nicolas-Denis Derome

ca. 1783 · Gilt-tooled red morocco leather; pale green silk lining with gold braid · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Leather boxes and trunks served in 18th century France for the storage and safekeeping of a variety of personal belongings when the court or aristocratic families moved from residence to residence. Not many of these boxes have been preserved in as pristine a condition as this writing box which may have been made on the occasion of the 1783 wedding of Adélaïde Charlotte de Broglie and Nicolas Gabriel Emé de Marcieu. Based on similarities of its decoration to book bindings of the period, particularly the bindings “à la dentelle” with lace-like ornament by Nicolas-Denis Derome (1731–1790), the writing box has been attributed to his workshop. Nicolas-Denis Derome was the most famous member of an important dynasty of Parisian bookbinders. The Musée du Louvre has a Morocco-leather petit necessaire (etui) signed by Charles Derome, the brother of Nicolas-Denis, which shows that the Derome family’s activities were not limited to bookbinding alone.

Artist

Nicolas-Denis Derome

Date

ca. 1783

Medium

Gilt-tooled red morocco leather; pale green silk lining with gold braid

Culture

French

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Bequest of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2019