Matchbox Label
20th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Indian matchbox covers form part of India’s vibrant popular visual culture. These small boxes, sold for a few pence, are bold and colourful, some simple and naïve, others more complex and detailed. The images range from gods and goddesses, women, flowers, fruits, monuments, transport, tools, consumer goods and more. Successful covers are continuously copied and there can be endless variations of one particular image produced by rival companies. Many covers have a ‘retro’ feel about them because of this copying process, this also makes them difficult to date. Despite their ephemeral nature, they can convey historical, political and social information. Matchbox art dates back to the 1920s when India began producing its own matches from factories in Calcutta in Bengal and Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu. Prior to this, matches were imported from Europe, mainly Sweden, and Japan. Early images reflect themes of nationalism while more recent images include planes, motorcycles and trucks.
This label is an example of a popular design which uses the same template and colour palette, and commonly depicts tools, implements and weapons. Card playing is a common leisure activity in India and is referred to as ‘taash’ in Hindi and Urdu.
This label is an example of a popular design which uses the same template and colour palette, and commonly depicts tools, implements and weapons. Card playing is a common leisure activity in India and is referred to as ‘taash’ in Hindi and Urdu.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Offset printed paper |
| Brief description | Matchbox label for ‘Tekkei Safety Match’, India, 20th century |
| Physical description | Matchbox label for ‘Tekkei Safety Match’. The central image depicts the four suits from a pack of playing cards - a black club and spade, and a red heart and diamond - on a yellow ground in the shape of a rectangle. On the left hand side are the words ‘50’s Price 40 Ps’ (paise), and text in Tamil on the right. The central image is set within a thick black and two thinner red borders. Within the black border are the words, ‘Tekkei’ at the top, ‘Tekkei’ on the left, ‘Tekkei’ on the right, and ‘Safety Match’ at the bottom, all in yellow. In each corner is a yellow star within a black and red circle. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Content description | Matchbox label depicting playing card suits |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Indian matchbox covers form part of India’s vibrant popular visual culture. These small boxes, sold for a few pence, are bold and colourful, some simple and naïve, others more complex and detailed. The images range from gods and goddesses, women, flowers, fruits, monuments, transport, tools, consumer goods and more. Successful covers are continuously copied and there can be endless variations of one particular image produced by rival companies. Many covers have a ‘retro’ feel about them because of this copying process, this also makes them difficult to date. Despite their ephemeral nature, they can convey historical, political and social information. Matchbox art dates back to the 1920s when India began producing its own matches from factories in Calcutta in Bengal and Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu. Prior to this, matches were imported from Europe, mainly Sweden, and Japan. Early images reflect themes of nationalism while more recent images include planes, motorcycles and trucks. This label is an example of a popular design which uses the same template and colour palette, and commonly depicts tools, implements and weapons. Card playing is a common leisure activity in India and is referred to as ‘taash’ in Hindi and Urdu. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.128-2012 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | January 8, 2013 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
