Ordeketen met het grootkruis van de Koninklijke Orde van Holland, 1807 1808

Alphonse Pierre Giraud made this design for a chain of office using pencil, pen, and watercolor in 1807. These are not the kinds of materials that we normally associate with items of high status like this. Normally, it would be gold, precious stones, and enamel. Here, Giraud instead gives us a rendering, a plan for fabrication. The artist’s hand is evident in the precision of line, and the translucent washes of color. The chain is composed of heraldic devices, each meticulously drafted. Given the emphasis on graphic skill, we can assume that Giraud's training lay in printmaking, or perhaps as a draftsman for a jewelry workshop. This artwork gives us insight into the processes of production that underpinned the creation of luxury objects. There's the labor of design, of planning, that often goes unrecognized. In fact, we might say that skilled handiwork, such as Giraud's, is itself a form of wealth. This drawing encourages us to value the means of making, not just the object itself.