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Snuffbox

ca. 1819-1832 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The panels of this box are set with burgau shell, coral, ivory, mother of pearl and gold, a technique known as laque-burgauté. Burgau shell comes from the green sea snail (turbo marmoreus). It became very popular in the 1800s and 1900s in Europe for jewellery, fans, buttons and instrument inlay due to its clear, creamy colour and iridescence. However, the main fishing grounds became depleted and it is now little used. The technique originated in China during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), where it was also used to cover unglazed porcelain and was also widely used in Japan in the Tokugawa period (1603-1867).

It was made by the goldsmith Gabriel-Raoul Morel, the goldsmith responsible for the box, was born in Paris in 1764. He first entered his mark in 1797, under the French Revolutionary government and is noted for the range of media in which he worked. Morel is known to have specialised in remounting old panels in new boxes. It is therefore possible that the panels in this box were made some 75 years earlier.

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.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Coral, ivory, mother of pearl, burgau shell, gold, composition
Brief description
Rectangular snuffbox with cockerel and flowers on cover. Coral, ivory, mother of pearl, burgau shell, gold, composition. Gabriel-Raoul Morel, Paris, 1819-32
Physical description
A rectangular, gold-mounted laque-burgaute snuffbox, the cover depicting a cockerel and flowers
Dimensions
  • Length: 8cm
  • Width: 6.1cm
  • Height: 3.8cm
Marks and inscriptions
Paris marks for 1819-32
Gallery label
3. Snuffbox with cockerel and flowers, 1819–32 Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.452-2008(16/11/2016)
Credit line
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Object history
Provenance: Jeremy Harris, London. Acquired by Arthur Gilbert from S.J. Phillips Ltd, London, 1976.
Summary
The panels of this box are set with burgau shell, coral, ivory, mother of pearl and gold, a technique known as laque-burgauté. Burgau shell comes from the green sea snail (turbo marmoreus). It became very popular in the 1800s and 1900s in Europe for jewellery, fans, buttons and instrument inlay due to its clear, creamy colour and iridescence. However, the main fishing grounds became depleted and it is now little used. The technique originated in China during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), where it was also used to cover unglazed porcelain and was also widely used in Japan in the Tokugawa period (1603-1867).

It was made by the goldsmith Gabriel-Raoul Morel, the goldsmith responsible for the box, was born in Paris in 1764. He first entered his mark in 1797, under the French Revolutionary government and is noted for the range of media in which he worked. Morel is known to have specialised in remounting old panels in new boxes. It is therefore possible that the panels in this box were made some 75 years earlier.

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.
Bibliographic references
  • Snowman, A. Kenneth. Eighteenth century gold boxes of Europe, London: Faber, 1966, pl. 424.
  • Snowman, A. Kenneth. Eighteenth century gold boxes of Europe, rev. ed., Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club, 1990, pl. 513. ISBN. 1851490728
  • Habsburg-Lothringen, Géza von. Gold boxes from the collection of Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert. R. & A. Gilbert, 1983. 125 p., ill. Cat. no. 65, pp. 117-8. ISBN. 0961039809.
  • Truman, Charles.The Gilbert collection of gold boxes, Vol. I. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1991, cat. no. 47, pp. 145-7. ISBN.0875871623
  • Zech, Heike. Gold Boxes. Masterpieces from the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection. London: V&A Publishing, 2015, pp. 62-63, no. 16. ISBN 987-1-85177-840-9
  • Schroder, Timothy. Gold boxes : from the Gilbert collection : an exhibition, Los Angeles : Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1986 65
Other numbers
  • GB 77 - Arthur Gilbert Number
  • 1996.430 - The Gilbert Collection, Somerset House
Collection
Accession number
LOAN:GILBERT.452-2008

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Record createdJune 19, 2008
Record URL
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