Box thumbnail 1
Box thumbnail 2
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Jewellery, Rooms 91 to 93 mezzanine, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery

Box

1791 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

King Gustavus III of Sweden (1746-92) gave this box to Patrick Miller of Dalswinton (1731-1815), banker and inventor, no earlier than 1791, the date the box was made. Gustavus III died in 1792 of an infected wound following an assassination attempt at a masked ball.

The box was a gift made in return for Miller's double-hulled ship with a paddle wheel, which is depicted on the base. Miller gave the ship, the paddle turned by manpower, to Gustavus III and it became known in Sweden as 'the British sea monster'.

Miller moved on from his man-powered vessels to experiment with the application of steam power to boats. He is also remembered as a patron of the poet Robert Burns.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Enamelled gold box, mounted with a miniature surrounded by moonstones on the lid, and with miniatures on the base and sides
Brief description
Enamelled gold box, set with a miniature of Gustavus III of Sweden (1746-1792), surrounded by moonstones, with a depiction of a double-hulled paddle-wheeled ship on the base of the box. Mark of Friedrich Fyrwald, Stockholm, 1791.
Physical description
Enamelled gold box, set with a miniature in watercolour on ivory under glass of Gustavus III of Sweden (1746-1792), surrounded by moonstones. On the base is mounted a miniature of a double-hulled paddle-wheeled ship. On the front side is mounted a view of a harbour with warships which has been identified as the Swedish naval port of Karlskrona. On the joint (hinge) side of the box is a scene of a fortification which has been identified as Sveaborg, the Swedish fort which is now part of Helsinki. One end of the box is mounted with a painting of a Swedish gun barge, the other with a Swedish frigate.
Dimensions
  • Height: 33mm
  • Width: 87mm
  • Depth: 57mm
Marks and inscriptions
  • Stockholm marks for 1791
  • FF in a rectangle (Mark of Friedrich Fyrwald)
  • 'Presented to Patrick Miller / of Dalswinton in 1786. / by / Gustavus III King of Sweden.' (Engraved on reverse of lid. Inscription not contemporary with presentation.)
Credit line
Bequeathed by T. G. A. Miller
Object history
Given by Gustavus III of Sweden to Patrick Miller of Dalswinton, whose paddle-wheeled ship is depicted.
Subjects depicted
Summary
King Gustavus III of Sweden (1746-92) gave this box to Patrick Miller of Dalswinton (1731-1815), banker and inventor, no earlier than 1791, the date the box was made. Gustavus III died in 1792 of an infected wound following an assassination attempt at a masked ball.

The box was a gift made in return for Miller's double-hulled ship with a paddle wheel, which is depicted on the base. Miller gave the ship, the paddle turned by manpower, to Gustavus III and it became known in Sweden as 'the British sea monster'.

Miller moved on from his man-powered vessels to experiment with the application of steam power to boats. He is also remembered as a patron of the poet Robert Burns.
Other number
LOAN:MILLER.1 - Previous loan number
Collection
Accession number
M.54-2009

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Record createdAugust 1, 2005
Record URL
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