Snuffbox
1819-1832 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The panels on this box are chased with scenes from Trajan's column. Trajan was Emperor of Rome from 98 to 117 AD and fought two wars against the Dacians. A triumphal column depicting his victories was erected in Rome, a full size replica of which can be found in the Museum's Cast Courts.
The Paris goldsmith Gabriel-Raoul Morel was noted for the range of media in which he worked. He is known to have used panels identical to this in a box with differently chased mounts. An inscription inside this box records that it was given to Sir Walter Farquhar by Count Woronzov. Farquhar was a army and naval surgeon who later became physician to the Prince of Wales, the future George IV.
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.
The Paris goldsmith Gabriel-Raoul Morel was noted for the range of media in which he worked. He is known to have used panels identical to this in a box with differently chased mounts. An inscription inside this box records that it was given to Sir Walter Farquhar by Count Woronzov. Farquhar was a army and naval surgeon who later became physician to the Prince of Wales, the future George IV.
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 | Cast and chased gold |
| Brief description | Snuffbox with Roman subjects after Trajan's Column. Gold, Gabriel-Raoul Morel, Paris, 1819-32. |
| Physical description | A rectangular gold snuffbox, set with six plaques cast and chased in relief with Roman subjects after Trajan's Column |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Paris marks for 1819-32 |
| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
| Object history | Provenance: King Farouk of Egypt; sale, 'The Palace Collections of Egypt', Sotheby's, Koubbeh Palace, Cairo, lot. 720, March 13, 1954. Sotheby's, London, lot. 141, November 25, 1968. Maurice Asprey. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | The panels on this box are chased with scenes from Trajan's column. Trajan was Emperor of Rome from 98 to 117 AD and fought two wars against the Dacians. A triumphal column depicting his victories was erected in Rome, a full size replica of which can be found in the Museum's Cast Courts. The Paris goldsmith Gabriel-Raoul Morel was noted for the range of media in which he worked. He is known to have used panels identical to this in a box with differently chased mounts. An inscription inside this box records that it was given to Sir Walter Farquhar by Count Woronzov. Farquhar was a army and naval surgeon who later became physician to the Prince of Wales, the future George IV. 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 reference | Truman, Charles.The Gilbert collection of gold boxes, Vol. I. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1991, cat. no. 45, pp. 138-41. ISBN.0875871623 |
| Other numbers |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.465-2008 |
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| Record created | June 19, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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