Snuffbox
ca. 1822 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Few nineteenth-century snuffboxes from the Grand Ducal workshops are documented today and of those in public museums, almost all belong to the Gilbert Collection.
The military trophies depicted on this box were probably designed by Giovan Battista Giorgi, who was appointed painter-designer to the Opificio delle Pietre Dure) in 1815. A document from 1822 in the archives of the Opificio describes a snuffbox similar to this one and discusses the costs associated with the manufacture of the panels (Giusti, 1992).
Hardstone mosaic techniques (commessi di pietre dure) emerged in Florence, where Ferdinand de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, founded the Grand Ducal workshop in 1588. It still operates today under the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage as the Opificio delle Pietre Dure.
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 military trophies depicted on this box were probably designed by Giovan Battista Giorgi, who was appointed painter-designer to the Opificio delle Pietre Dure) in 1815. A document from 1822 in the archives of the Opificio describes a snuffbox similar to this one and discusses the costs associated with the manufacture of the panels (Giusti, 1992).
Hardstone mosaic techniques (commessi di pietre dure) emerged in Florence, where Ferdinand de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, founded the Grand Ducal workshop in 1588. It still operates today under the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage as the Opificio delle Pietre Dure.
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
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Hardstones (pietre dure), lapis lazuli, varicoloured chased gold |
| Brief description | Hardstone and gold snuffbox, the lid with a hardstone mosaic (commesso di pietre dure) depicting a military trophy |
| Physical description | Rectangular varicoloured gold and hardstone snuffbox, comprising six panels of lapis lazuli set in cagework gold mounts, the lid with a mosaic (commesso) of hardstones including calcedonio di Volterra, depicting a military trophy, the cagework mounts chased with foliage and ribbons. |
| Dimensions |
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| 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: J. Kugel, Paris, 1994. |
| Production | Box: probably Florence. Mosaic: Florence, Opificio delle Pietre Dure |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Few nineteenth-century snuffboxes from the Grand Ducal workshops are documented today and of those in public museums, almost all belong to the Gilbert Collection. The military trophies depicted on this box were probably designed by Giovan Battista Giorgi, who was appointed painter-designer to the Opificio delle Pietre Dure) in 1815. A document from 1822 in the archives of the Opificio describes a snuffbox similar to this one and discusses the costs associated with the manufacture of the panels (Giusti, 1992). Hardstone mosaic techniques (commessi di pietre dure) emerged in Florence, where Ferdinand de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, founded the Grand Ducal workshop in 1588. It still operates today under the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage as the Opificio delle Pietre Dure. 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 |
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| Other numbers |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.437-2008 |
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| Record created | June 19, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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