Snuffbox thumbnail 1
Snuffbox thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Snuffbox

ca. 1850 (marked)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Germany (made)

The box's asymmetrical form and crisp carving suggest it is probably German in origin. The putto and shell motif in particular can be seen in the work of South German artists.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde amassed 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
Metalwork
Containers
Personal Accessories
Object type
Snuffbox
Materials and techniques
Gold, silver, carved mottled agate and one 'old-mine' brilliant cut and star cut diamonds
Agate
Diamond
Gold
Silver
Carving
Stone-Cutting
Setting
Brief description
A cartouche-shaped, gold mounted agate snuffbox, the asymmetrical bombé body cut on the cover with a shell and putto, with an applied spray of diamonds.
Physical description
A cartouche-shaped, gold mounted agate snuffbox, the asymmetrical bombé body cut on the cover with a shell and putto, with an applied spray of diamonds
Dimensions
  • Length: 7.2cm
  • Width: 6.9cm
  • Height: 3.4cm
Asymmetrical shape
Marks and inscriptions
  • Mark for gold imported from countries without customs conventions with France, September or October 24, 1864-May 30, 1893 (On the right side of the bezel)
  • Erased marks (On the right side of the bezel)
Gallery label
  • 2. Snuffbox with Cupid and diamonds, about 1750 Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.399-2008(16/11/2016)
  • Snuffbox with diamonds About 1750 Probably Germany Agate, gold, rose-cut diamonds set in silver Formerly in the collection of Lord Wharton Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.399-2008(2009)
Credit line
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Object history
Provenance: Lord Wharton, London. Wartski, London.
Subjects depicted
Shell
Putto
Summary
The box's asymmetrical form and crisp carving suggest it is probably German in origin. The putto and shell motif in particular can be seen in the work of South German artists.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde amassed 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
  • Tait, Hugh. 'An Anonymous Loan to the British Museum, 2: Eighteenth Century Gold Boxes', The Connoisseur, 154, December 1963, fig. 18, p. 222.
  • Truman, Charles.The Gilbert collection of gold boxes, Vol. I. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1991, cat. no. 65, pp. 190-1. ISBN.0875871623
  • Snowman, A. Kenneth. Eighteenth century gold boxes of Europe, rev. ed., Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club, 1990, pl. 645. ISBN. 1851490728
  • Schroder, Timothy. Gold boxes : from the Gilbert collection : an exhibition, Los Angeles : Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1986 29
Other numbers
  • GB 91 - Arthur Gilbert Number
  • 1996.441 - The Gilbert Collection, Somerset House
  • 1996.791.1 - The Gilbert Collection, Somerset House
  • MIN 26 - Arthur Gilbert Number
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
LOAN:GILBERT.399-2008

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Record createdJune 19, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O156496/snuffbox-unknown/
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