Bonbonniere thumbnail 1
Bonbonniere thumbnail 2
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Not currently on display at the V&A

Bonbonniere

ca. 1800 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Rome (made)

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
Containers
Metalwork
Mosaic
Personal Accessories
Object type
Bonbonniere
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Bonbonniere
  • Bonbonniere
Materials and techniques
Micromosaic, millefiore, tortoiseshell, gold
Mosaic Glass
Micromosaic
Brief description
Circular box with round micromosaic. Tortoiseshell and gold, 1830.
Physical description
Circular tortoiseshell box, the cover set with a round micromosaic within a border of glass millefiore tesserae, the composition consists of a central pedestal holding a bow and quiver of arrows, two doves billing on the lower right and a basket of flowers on the left.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 7.6cm
  • Height: 2.5cm
Credit line
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Object history
Provenance: Graus Antiques, London, 1972.
Summary
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
  • Avery, Charles, assisted by Arthur Emperatori. Mosaics from the Gilbert Collection: summary catalogue. Exhibition catalogue Victoria & Albert Museum. London: H.M.S.O. 1975, no. 82.
  • Gonzalez- Palacios, Alvar. The Art of Mosaics: Selections from the Gilbert Collection, Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1977. 143 p., ill. Cat. no. 32. ISBN 0875870805.
  • Gonzalez-Palacios, Alvar and Steffi Röttgen with essays by Steffi Röttgen, Claudia Przyborowski; essays and new catalogue material translated by Alla Theodora Hall. The Art of Mosaics: Selections from the Gilbert Collection. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1982. 224 p., ill. Cat. no. 34. ISBN 0875871097
  • Wheeler, Daniel, ed. with introduction by Alexis Gregory. Princely Taste: Treasures from Great Private Collections. Exhibition catalogue, Jerusalem: Israel Museum, vol. 369, 1995, p. 78.
  • Gabriel, Jeanette Hanisee with contributions by Anna Maria Massinelli and essays by Judy Rudoe and Massimo Alfieri. Micromosaics: The Gilbert Collection. London: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd. in association with The Gilbert Collection, 2000. 310 p., ill. Cat. no. 114, p. 183. ISBN 0856675113.
Other numbers
  • MM 105B - Arthur Gilbert Number
  • MIN 73 - Arthur Gilbert Number
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
LOAN:GILBERT.480:1-2008

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Record createdJune 26, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O157725/bonbonniere-unknown/
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