Casket
ca. 1860-1880 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
When the fashion for collecting French eighteenth-century furniture and ceramics first became fashionable in the nineteenth century, makers and fakers were quick to exploit the market by creating new versions of older designs. In some cases they were very close to the designs that inspired them, and intended to deceive. Other pieces, like this casket, were simply in the style of the eighteenth century and may never have been meant as fakes. Porcelain-mounted furniture was all the rage in the second half of the nineteenth century. John Jones bought many fine pieces dating from the reign of Louis XVI, nearly a century before, and left several of them to the V&A. We do not know whether he knew the age of this piece when he acquired it. The triangular and diamond-shaped plaques are very different from the shapes produced by the Sèvres porcelain factory in the eighteenth century, but in the nineteenth century knowledge of such details was only in its infancy.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Mahogany veneers on mahogany carcase, set with porcelain plaques and gilt-bronze beading |
| Brief description | Casket of mahogany veneer on a mahogany carcase, set with porcelain plaques and gilt-bronze beading |
| Physical description | A casket veneered in mahogany on a mahogany ground, of rectangular form, the sides and top set with triangular and diamond-shaped plaques of porcelain, painted with flowers, the edges of the plaques set with gilt-bronze beading. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Bequeathed by John Jones |
| Object history | In the collection of John Jones before 1882 |
| Production | This casket was made in the style of Louis XVI, and appears to be mounted with Sèvres porcelain, so it may be assumed that it was made in Paris in the 19th century, though such pieces were also made in London. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | When the fashion for collecting French eighteenth-century furniture and ceramics first became fashionable in the nineteenth century, makers and fakers were quick to exploit the market by creating new versions of older designs. In some cases they were very close to the designs that inspired them, and intended to deceive. Other pieces, like this casket, were simply in the style of the eighteenth century and may never have been meant as fakes. Porcelain-mounted furniture was all the rage in the second half of the nineteenth century. John Jones bought many fine pieces dating from the reign of Louis XVI, nearly a century before, and left several of them to the V&A. We do not know whether he knew the age of this piece when he acquired it. The triangular and diamond-shaped plaques are very different from the shapes produced by the Sèvres porcelain factory in the eighteenth century, but in the nineteenth century knowledge of such details was only in its infancy. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 1055-1882 |
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| Record created | February 7, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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