Snuffbox
1782-1783 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The painted miniatures show the Triumph of Bacchus and the drunkenness of Silenus. Bacchus and Silenus were Greek mythological figures, associated with wine and drunken revelry. They were painted by Jacques-Joseph de Gault, a prolific artist specialising in imitating cameos. A number of boxes mounted with his miniatures survive: thirteen are in the Musée du Louvre and others in public and private collections. He was commissioned to paint a jewel cabinet for the French queen Marie-Antoinette.
The maker of the box, Adrien-Jean-Maximilien Vachette was part of an illustrious dynasty of goldsmiths. When he became a master, he was sponsored by Pierre-François Drais. He later worked with Charles Ouizille.
Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.
On long-term loan to Los Angeles County Museum from 2010.
The maker of the box, Adrien-Jean-Maximilien Vachette was part of an illustrious dynasty of goldsmiths. When he became a master, he was sponsored by Pierre-François Drais. He later worked with Charles Ouizille.
Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.
On long-term loan to Los Angeles County Museum from 2010.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Chased gold, enamel and glazed miniatures on ivory |
| Brief description | Snuffbox with triumph of Bacchus, gold, enamel and glazed miniatures. Paris, box: Adrien-Jean-Maximilien Vachette, miniatures: Jean-Jacques de Gault, 1782-83 |
| Physical description | A rectangular, enamelled gold snuffbox with rounded corners, set with grisaille miniatures depicting on the cover the Triumph of Bacchus, on the base the Drunkenness of Silenus, and around the walls bacchic festivities, mounted under glass in gold frames chased with a translucent green and opalescent enamel guilloche. The corners of the box have pairs of chased gold pilasters. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | JJ de Gault (Signed on the miniatures on the cover and the base) |
| Credit line | The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
| Object history | Provenance Acquired by Arthur Gilbert from S.J. Phillips Ltd, London, 1979. |
| Production | The author of the miniatures was erroneously identified as Pierre-Marie de Gault Saint Germain by Géza von Habsburg-Lothringen (1983, no.52). He has however, been correctly identified elsewhere (Jeannerat, 1935, pp.221-35) as Jacques-Joseph de Gault (1738 |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | The painted miniatures show the Triumph of Bacchus and the drunkenness of Silenus. Bacchus and Silenus were Greek mythological figures, associated with wine and drunken revelry. They were painted by Jacques-Joseph de Gault, a prolific artist specialising in imitating cameos. A number of boxes mounted with his miniatures survive: thirteen are in the Musée du Louvre and others in public and private collections. He was commissioned to paint a jewel cabinet for the French queen Marie-Antoinette. The maker of the box, Adrien-Jean-Maximilien Vachette was part of an illustrious dynasty of goldsmiths. When he became a master, he was sponsored by Pierre-François Drais. He later worked with Charles Ouizille. Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996. On long-term loan to Los Angeles County Museum from 2010. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.366-2008 |
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| Record created | June 19, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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