Box
1650-1699 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Filigree is the technique of using curled wires as decoration. It became popular in northern Europe in the second half of the 17th century, when it was used in all kinds of fashionable small ‘toys’ and trinkets.
In this box, the plain filigree base is entirely covered with small appliques of silver foil stamped in baroque shapes of flowers, leaves and winged angel’s heads. It is not known where this specific version of the technique originated but it may have been in France as several of the surviving pieces have French associations.
In this box, the plain filigree base is entirely covered with small appliques of silver foil stamped in baroque shapes of flowers, leaves and winged angel’s heads. It is not known where this specific version of the technique originated but it may have been in France as several of the surviving pieces have French associations.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silver filigree and sheet silver with floral and cherub's head appliques inset with a crystal heart |
| Brief description | Heart-shaped silver filigree box with a crystal heart in the lid, France, 1650-1699. |
| Physical description | Heart-shaped silver filigree box with straight sides and a lid which pushes on. The sides of the box and the top of the lid are made of open filigree and the lip of the lid and the base of the box of thin sheet silver. There is a heart-shaped piece of rock crystal set in the centre of the lid. The filigree is made of thin ribbon wire overlaid with stamped appliques of flowers, leaves and winged cherub’s heads. The rim of the lid and the base of the setting for the rock crystal heart are made of twisted ribbon wire. |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Filigree is the technique of using curled wires as decoration. It became popular in northern Europe in the second half of the 17th century, when it was used in all kinds of fashionable small ‘toys’ and trinkets. In this box, the plain filigree base is entirely covered with small appliques of silver foil stamped in baroque shapes of flowers, leaves and winged angel’s heads. It is not known where this specific version of the technique originated but it may have been in France as several of the surviving pieces have French associations. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 4506-1858 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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