This box is an example of political propaganda during the Seven Years War (1756-63), with the major areas of the conflict in central Europe mapped on the outside. The allies around Prussia, including Hanover, are prominently placed on the top, while Austria is shown fragmented at the margins. The inside of the lid is painted with a map of the Indian subcontinent, and a map of North America decorates the base. In these parts of the world, British and French colonial interests also culminated in military conflict at this time.
The box is made of painted white enamel; an inexpensive alternative to porcelain boxes which, despite having been reinvented in Europe in the 18th century, remained a costly luxury - the 'white gold'. Painted enamelled snuffboxes could emulate porcelain boxes to an extraordinary extent.
Similar boxes are known, and depict either maps or a portrait of Frederick the Great in celebration of Prussian supremacy in 1757, when the Prussian Army won two important battles at Rossbach and Leuthen. The date 1757 is also given on this box, meaning that it is therefore likely to have been made in Berlin, a centre of the production of enamel boxes, as a souvenir of the successful campaigns of the year. The maps painted on this box are not just an example of political propaganda however, but also of a trend at the time for giving snuffboxes the look of everyday objects, such as letters.
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.
Physical description
Rectangular enamelled copper snuffbox with engraved gilt-metal mounts. The cover, walls, base and interior are painted with maps of Dresden and Saxony, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Bavaria, from Lake Constance to the Netherlands and along the coast of Denmark to the Baltic. The base shows the French territories in Canada and the interior shows the Gulf of Bengal, Ceylon and the Malabar and Coromandel coasts as well as a map of Silesia.
Place of Origin
Berlin, Germany (probably, made)
Date
1757-1758 (painted)
1757 (drawn)
Artist/maker
Scheydl, Jordan, born 1728 - died 1780 (painter)
Beducci, Carlo (artist)
Materials and Techniques
Enamelled copper and engraved gilt metal
Marks and inscriptions
Signed on front wall.
Dimensions
Height: 4.3 cm, Width: 8.6 cm, Depth: 7 cm, Weight: 220 g
Object history note
Provenance: Sale, Sotheby's Geneva, lot 49, 17 November 1992.
Historical context note
The disputed sovereignty of Silesia, which is depicted on a map inside this box, triggered the Seven Years War (1756-63). The duchy had become Prussian territory during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48) when King Frederick the Great of Prussia (1712-86) defeated Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. All major European powers of the time became involved: Prussia, Great Britain and Hanover opposed Austria and its main allies, France, Russia, Sweden and Spain. Colonial interests outside Europe led to an escalation of the war into what might be considered the first global conflict.
The box is inscribed with the names Charles Beduzzi and Jordan Scheydl. Charles Truman found references to both names indicating Vienna as a place of activity, however, this seems unlikely, as the maps painted upon the box depict Austria fragmented at the margins. Though the possibility of the box being of Viennese origin cannot be ruled out, Berlin seems a much more likely option.
Descriptive line
Snuffbox with enamelled maps depicting maps related to the Seven Years War, engraved gilt-metal mounts, Berlin, ca. 1757-1758
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Truman, Charles, The Gilbert Collection of Gold Boxes, Volume II, Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd., London, 1999, cat. no. 31, p. 55, ISBN.0856675210
Patterson, Angus, "Power and Glory", Chapter, in Medlam, Sarah and Lesley Ellis Miller, eds. Princely Treasures. European Masterpieces 1600 - 1800 from the Victoria and Albert Museum, V&A Publishing, London, 2011, ISBN 9781851776337, pp. 60-61
Zech, Heike, "'Theatre of War': Two Enamelled Copper Snuffboxes with Maps Relating to the Seven Years' War", The Journal of the Antique Metalware Society, Vol. 18, June 2010, pp. 48-55, ill. p. 49-50
The other box, to which the title refers, is LOAN.GILBERT.506-2008
Exhibition History
Princely Treasures: European Masterpieces 1600-1800 from the V&A (National Museum of Korea (Seoul) 02/05/2011-28/08/2011)
Gold Boxes (?) (Dixon Gallery and Gardens 01/01/1993-31/12/1993)
Labels and date
Copper snuffbox with maps of Seven Years War
About 1757
The maps show the major areas of conflict in the second year of the Seven Years War (1756–63). White enamel and copper snuffboxes were cheap to produce and competed with the more expensive porcelain boxes.
Probably Vienna, Austria, possibly Dresden, Germany; maps probably painted by Jordan Scheydl (1728–80) and Carlo Beducci (active in Vienna 1750–1800)
Enamel, copper and gilded metal
Signed in French ‘Taken from the large, universal map and reduced in scale by Charles Beduzzi engineer and architect, the year 1757, painted by Jordan Scheydl’
Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.503-2008 [2009]
Production Note
Maps probably painted by Jordan Scheydl and Carlo Beducci.
Materials
Copper; Gilt metal; Enamel paint
Techniques
Painting (image-making); Gilding; Engraving (incising); Forming
Subjects depicted
Maps
Collection code
MET
