Snuffbox
ca.1755 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This box is part of a small group of Meissen boxes made in the shape of envelopes. Similar boxes are sometimes found in Russian porcelain and in enamelled copper. They were probably intended as gifts to loved ones.
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
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Gold-mounted, enamelled porcelain |
Brief description | Rectangular gold-mounted porcelain snuffbox in the form of a sealed letter, the cover painted in black with the inscription: 'a Monsieur / Monsieur Le Constant / Directeur des infideles', above interlaced scrolls. The interior of the cover is painted with figures dancing and making music in a garden; the interior of the base is painted with a blue trellis enclosing flowers; the base moulded and painted with a Minerva's head. The top has a plain waved-gold mount and flaring thumbpiece. |
Physical description | Rectangular gold-mounted porcelain snuffbox in the form of a sealed letter, the cover painted in black with the inscription: 'a Monsieur / Monsieur Le Constant / Directeur des infideles', above interlaced scrolls. The interior of the cover is painted with figures dancing and making music in a garden; the interior of the base is painted with a blue trellis enclosing flowers; the base moulded and painted with a Minerva's head. The top has a plain waved-gold mount and flaring thumbpiece. |
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: Sotheby's, Geneva, lot 9, 15/11/1994. S. J. Phillips, London. |
Production | 'There is no reason to suppose that the mounts are not contemporary with the box, and were probably made by a local, Dresden goldsmith.' |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This box is part of a small group of Meissen boxes made in the shape of envelopes. Similar boxes are sometimes found in Russian porcelain and in enamelled copper. They were probably intended as gifts to loved ones. 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, volume II, London: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd., 1999, cat. no. 29, p. 53. ISBN.0856675210. |
Other numbers |
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Collection | |
Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.502-2008 |
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Record created | June 19, 2008 |
Record URL |
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