Snuffbox
c. 1765 (made)
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| Place of origin |
This box is part of the group of snuffboxes associated with Frederick II, the Great of Prussia. He was a cultivated admirer of the arts. He maintained a lengthy, although sometimes heated correspondence with the French philosopher Voltaire and was a gifted musician, composer and linguist. He had a passion for gold boxes, and took a keen interest in their design. . He carried a box at all times, one is even said to have saved his life by deflecting a bullet during the battle of Kunersdorf in 1759.
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.
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 | Carved agate, chased and inlaid gold, and set hardstones and diamonds backed with tinted foil |
| Brief description | A jewelled gold and hardstone snuffbox, associated with Frederick the Great of Prussia. Berlin, c.1765 |
| Physical description | A cartouche shaped varicoloured gold mounted hardstone snuffbox, comprising nine panels of chocolate-brown agate, encrusted on three sides with sprays of diamond flowers bordered by three-colour gold flowers. The base has similar borders but is set in coloured hardstones with a scene after Jean-Baptiste Oudry's Cygne et barbet. The rim of the lid is chased with a broad border of three colour gold flowers and scrolls and set with eight large cushion-shaped diamonds, two-pear shaped diamonds and a profusion of lesser stones, many over pink foil. The centre of the lid is set with spray of diamond flowers. |
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| Marks and inscriptions | (Inscribed in German 'I belonged to Frederick the Great. Frederick William III gave me to his son Albrecht as the inalienable property of his family') |
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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 Frederick II of Prussia. King Frederick William III of Prussia. Prince Albrecht of Prussia. M. Solover, Paris. King Farouk of Egypt, sale 'The Palace Collections of Egypt', Sotheby's, Koubbeh Palace, Cairo, lot. 726, March 13, 1954. Robert Lehman Collection, New York. Harry Winston. This box is remarkable for its inscription, allowing it to be associated with certainty with Frederick the Great. Around the bezel, the inscription reads: "Friedrich der Grosse besass mich. Friedrich Wilhelm III ubergab mich/seinem Sohne Albrecht zum Fideikommis in seiner Familie." Translated it states: "I belonged to Frederick the Great. Frederick William III gave me to his son Albrecht as the inalienable property of his family." The base is decorated with a scene in coloured hardstones based on the painting ‘Cygne et barbet’ by Jean-Baptiste Oudry. First exhibited at the Salon of 1740, it rapidly gained popularity and was copied in a number of media, including by Sèvres for a porcelain cuvette, on japanned boxes and in the decoration of the dining room of the Comte de Combert. On this box in the Gilbert Collection, the artist has substituted a colourful mallard for the swan in order to be able to use a range of different hardstones. Some of these jewelled ornaments cleverly disguises natural imperfections of the stone, here the central spray of diamonds on the lid disguises the join between two agate panels, making it appear to be carved from one piece of stone. |
| Summary | This box is part of the group of snuffboxes associated with Frederick II, the Great of Prussia. He was a cultivated admirer of the arts. He maintained a lengthy, although sometimes heated correspondence with the French philosopher Voltaire and was a gifted musician, composer and linguist. He had a passion for gold boxes, and took a keen interest in their design. . He carried a box at all times, one is even said to have saved his life by deflecting a bullet during the battle of Kunersdorf in 1759. 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. |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.423-2008 |
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| Record created | June 19, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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