Tekening uit L’Art Industriel c. 1830 - 1850

This pencil drawing of an ornate fork, 'Tekening uit L’Art Industriel', was created by Firma Feuchère. The drawing is on paper, a cheap, easily-produced material, allowing the dissemination of design ideas within industrial arts. The design itself includes a series of decorative motifs. We see acanthus leaves, scrollwork, and cherubic figures. These are common in luxury goods, such as silverware, furniture, and architectural detailing. The firm of Feuchère specialized in providing models for such work, and the drawing is a record of this kind of labor. Though only a sketch, it gives us insight into the amount of design labor involved. The drawing shows not only the design, but the labor and industrial activity behind the manufacturing of luxury goods, thus challenging traditional notions of design hierarchies.