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.
Many Indian matchbox labels depict a lit match; a common motif on matchbox labels all around the world.
Many Indian matchbox labels depict a lit match; a common motif on matchbox labels all around the world.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Offset printed paper |
| Brief description | Matchbox label for ‘Venus Safety Matches’, Mulliseval, India, 20th century |
| Physical description | Matchbox label for ‘Venus Safety Matches’. The central image depicts a white and black lit match with a stylised orange, white, black, yellow and red flame on a blue ground. In the top right hand corner is the text ‘Venus’ in yellow, ‘Safety Matches’ in black below, ‘20 P’ (paise) in white within a black circle on the lower right, and ‘Ayyappan Match Works, Mulliseval’ at the bottom. The whole design is enclosed within a white serrated border. |
| Dimensions |
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| Content description | Matchbox label depicting a lit match |
| 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. Many Indian matchbox labels depict a lit match; a common motif on matchbox labels all around the world. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.132-2012 |
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| Record created | January 8, 2013 |
| Record URL |
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