Carnet de Bal

"Dancing is the poetry of the foot."  ~ John Dryden

CARNET DE BAL. A nineteenth-century French gold and enamel dance card holder studded with diamonds and containing five bone leaves. First appearing around 1820, a carnet de bal was an accessory taken to balls by a lady to record the order of an evening's dances, as well as the name of her partner for each dance. The owner of the carnet de bal would use the gold-sheathed pencil topped with a rose-cut diamond to write the dance information directly onto the bone leaves, which could later be wiped clean in preparation for the next ball. This is the most beautiful carnet de bal we have encountered, an extraordinary bejewelled example, measuring only 2 15/16 by 1 7/8 inches (75x49mm).