Not currently on display at the V&A

Hercules resting after his Labours

Box
ca. 1680-1700 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This box, or bonbonniere is one of innumerbale ivories made as a courtly, luxury item in the late seventeenth and throughout the eighteenth centuries. The fairly crude style of carving means that this piece is difficult to date or attribute precisely, but it could be German and is likely to date from the late seventeenth century.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.
(Some alternative part names are also shown below)
  • Box
  • Bonbonniere
  • Lid
TitleHercules resting after his Labours (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved ivory
Brief description
Box and lid, ivory, with Hercules, German, ca. 1680-1700
Physical description
On the lid of this oval box Hercules is represented seated in front of a tree after his Labours, being crowned by a winged genius. At his feet are his defeated enemies, including the Hydra and the Nemean lion.
Dimensions
  • Height: 1.3cm
  • Height of relief of hercules on lid. height: 6.7cm
  • Width: 9cm
Object history
Bought for £1 4s. in Paris in 1856 (vendor unrecorded)
Subjects depicted
Summary
This box, or bonbonniere is one of innumerbale ivories made as a courtly, luxury item in the late seventeenth and throughout the eighteenth centuries. The fairly crude style of carving means that this piece is difficult to date or attribute precisely, but it could be German and is likely to date from the late seventeenth century.
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Vol. I, For the Years 1852 to the end of 1867, London, 1868, 1856 volume, p. 31
  • Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory, II, London, 1929, p. 76
  • Trusted, Marjorie, Baroque & Later Ivories, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2013, cat. no. 47
Collection
Accession number
2796&A-1856

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Record createdApril 1, 2009
Record URL
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