Casket thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Casket

Box
ca. 1797 - ca. 1815 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Great Britain (made)

This Casket or box is said to have been made by French prisoners confined in Perth during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). The casket was made in ca. 1797-1815 and is adorned with pierced decorative bone work. It is possible that the present piece may too - as similar pieces - have been made at Norman Cross, near Peterborough rather than in Scotland.


Object details

Categories
Containers
Sculpture
Object type
Box
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Box
  • Lid
TitleCasket (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Wood covered with bone panels
Wood
Bone
Brief description
Casket, wood with bone, made by French prisoners during the Napoleonic Wars, ca. 1797-1815
Physical description
The casket is covered with bone panels, pierced with geometrical designs; on the top is a figure among trees.
Dimensions
  • Height: 11.5cm
  • Width: 21.5cm
  • Depth: 14.5cm
Credit line
Given by W.W.Watts, Esq., F.S.A.
Object history
Given by William Walter Watts F.S.A. (1862-1948), Keeper of Metalwork at the Victoria and Albert Museum, in 1907. Watts had joined the Museum of Science and Art (later the V&A) in 1879.
Production
Said to have been made by French prisoners confined in Perth during the Napoleonic Wars
Subjects depicted
Tree
Figure
Summary
This Casket or box is said to have been made by French prisoners confined in Perth during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). The casket was made in ca. 1797-1815 and is adorned with pierced decorative bone work. It is possible that the present piece may too - as similar pieces - have been made at Norman Cross, near Peterborough rather than in Scotland.
Bibliographic references
  • List of Works of Art Acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in the Years 1905 - 1908. In: List of Works of Art Acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum, During the Year 1907, Arranged According to the Dates of Acquisition with Appendix and Indices. London: Printed for His Majesty's Stationery Office, by Eyre and Spottiswoode, Limited, 1909, p. 126
  • Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory. Part II. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1929, p. 120
  • Trusted, Marjorie, Baroque & Later Ivories, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2013, cat. no. 277, p. 282
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
725&:1-1907

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Record createdFebruary 4, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O186254/casket-box-unknown/
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