Matchbox Label
20th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Indian matchbox covers form part of India’s vibrant popular visual culture. These small boxes, sold for a few pence, are bold and colourful, some simple and naïve, others more complex and detailed. The images range from gods and goddesses, women, flowers, fruits, monuments, transport, tools, consumer goods and more. Successful covers are continuously copied and there can be endless variations of one particular image produced by rival companies. Many covers have a ‘retro’ feel about them because of this copying process, this also makes them difficult to date. Despite their ephemeral nature, they can convey historical, political and social information. Matchbox art dates back to the 1920s when India began producing its own matches from factories in Calcutta in Bengal and Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu. Prior to this, matches were imported from Europe, mainly Sweden, and Japan. Early images reflect themes of nationalism while more recent images include planes, motorcycles and trucks.
The key as an icon on matchbox labels is popular both within India and other countries, such as Sweden where it arguably originated.
The key as an icon on matchbox labels is popular both within India and other countries, such as Sweden where it arguably originated.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Offset printed paper |
| Brief description | Matchbox label for ‘Locker Wax Matches’, Muthusamypuram, India, 20th century |
| Physical description | Matchbox label for ‘Locker Wax Matches’, there is a circular lock in the centre of the image within which are two red keys, all on a yellow ground, there is a thin black border surrounding the design, the word ‘Locker’ (in white on a red banner), is above the key, while ‘Wax Matches’ (in red) are on the left, ‘50’s Price 25 Ps’ (paise) (in red) on the right, and ‘Rajakumar Matchworks N. Muthusamypuram’ (in white text on a black panel) are below. |
| Dimensions |
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| Content description | Matchbox label depicting a lock and keys |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Indian matchbox covers form part of India’s vibrant popular visual culture. These small boxes, sold for a few pence, are bold and colourful, some simple and naïve, others more complex and detailed. The images range from gods and goddesses, women, flowers, fruits, monuments, transport, tools, consumer goods and more. Successful covers are continuously copied and there can be endless variations of one particular image produced by rival companies. Many covers have a ‘retro’ feel about them because of this copying process, this also makes them difficult to date. Despite their ephemeral nature, they can convey historical, political and social information. Matchbox art dates back to the 1920s when India began producing its own matches from factories in Calcutta in Bengal and Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu. Prior to this, matches were imported from Europe, mainly Sweden, and Japan. Early images reflect themes of nationalism while more recent images include planes, motorcycles and trucks. The key as an icon on matchbox labels is popular both within India and other countries, such as Sweden where it arguably originated. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.15-2012 |
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| Record created | December 17, 2012 |
| Record URL |
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