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Hercules slaying the Hydra

Tobacco Box and Lid
1734/5 (made)
Artist/Maker
Currie, William (maker)
Place of origin
Dublin (made)

A silver-gilt round tobacco box with a slightly domed cover engraved with Hercules slaying the Hydra, the maker's mark for William Currie, W C below a fleur-de-lys, and for Dublin 1734-5


Object details

Category
Metalwork
Object type
Tobacco box and lid
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Box
  • Lid
TitleHercules slaying the Hydra (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Engraved silver-gilt
Silver-Gilt
Engraving
Mercury-Gilding
Brief description
Gilded silver, Dublin (Ireland), 1734-35, maker's mark of William Currie.
Physical description
A silver-gilt round tobacco box with a slightly domed cover engraved with Hercules slaying the Hydra, the maker's mark for William Currie, W C below a fleur-de-lys, and for Dublin 1734-5
Dimensions
  • Across underside of base diameter: 7.5cm
  • Base to (domed) top of lid. height: 2.5cm
Style
Baroque
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
  • WC below a fleur-de-lys (Sponsor's mark: William Curry)
  • Town mark: Dublin
  • Date Letter (Partly rubbed out)
  • Mark: Hibernia
Gallery label
10. TOBACCO BOX Silver-gilt Dublin, 1745 Mark of William Currie The Greek demigod Hercules is engraved on this box, slaying the Hydra, a seven-headed serpent. Such classical designs on boxes were popular and signified their owners' status and intellect. This box, carefully engraved and then applied with mercury gilding, was made by specialist box maker William Currie. We have yet to identify the engraver. C. D. Rotch Bequest M.324:1&2-1962.(pre-2000.)
Credit line
Bequeathed by Claude D. Rotch
Object history
Bequeathed by Claude Rotch, 1961
Historical context
The shallow domed silver box was designed to contain tobacco rather than snuff.
Subject depicted
Hercules
Bibliographic reference
Alison FitzGerald, Silver in Georgian Dublin, Making, selling, consuming, London and New York, 2017, pp. 52,61. William Currie had premises close to the Goldsmiths' Company in Dublin and paid them an annual rent of £33 in 1750.
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
M.324:1, 2-1962

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Record createdSeptember 10, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O104445/hercules-slaying-the-hydra-tobacco-box-and-currie-william/
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