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Snuffbox

1819-1838 (made), ca.1825 (made)
Artist/Maker
Petschler, C. (box maker)
Puglieschi, Filipo (mosaicist)
Place of origin
Paris (made)
Rome (made)

Filippo Puglieschi was extremely skilled in the medium of micromosaics, as the cover of this box demonstrates. His pictures of animals and birds were extremely popular. Around 1805 it is recorded that he received a commission for 450 micromosaics from a retailer in the North. This particular mosaic is dated to around 1825, while the box bears the mark of C. Petschler and city marks for Paris, 1819-38.

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
Personal Accessories
Object type
Snuffbox
Materials and techniques
Carved tortoiseshell, gold and micromosaic
Tortoise Shell
Gold
Mosaic Glass
Carving
Casting
Micromosaic
Brief description
Tortoiseshell snuffbox inset with micromosaic; mosaic: Rome, about 1825, attributed to Filippo Puglieschi; box: city marks for Paris, 1819-38
Physical description
A rectangular tortoiseshell and gold box, the cover with a gold-framed mosaic of an owl with raised wings clutching with its talons a white kid on a grassy patch in a mountainous setting.
Dimensions
  • Width: 9.5cm
  • Depth: 2.9cm
  • Height: 7.2cm
Measured 29/01/24 IW
Gallery label
(16/11/2016)
1. Snuffbox with owl attacking a kid, 1819–38

Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.935-2008
Credit line
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Object history
Provenance: Graus, London.
Production
Mosaic: Rome, ca.1825, attributed to Filippo Puglieschi; box: city marks for Paris, 1819-38
Summary
Filippo Puglieschi was extremely skilled in the medium of micromosaics, as the cover of this box demonstrates. His pictures of animals and birds were extremely popular. Around 1805 it is recorded that he received a commission for 450 micromosaics from a retailer in the North. This particular mosaic is dated to around 1825, while the box bears the mark of C. Petschler and city marks for Paris, 1819-38.

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
  • 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. 46, p. 102. ISBN 0856675113.
  • 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. 46. ISBN 0875871097
  • 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. 42. ISBN 0875870805.
  • Avery, Charles, assisted by Arthur Emperatori. Mosaics from the Gilbert Collection: summary catalogue. London : H.M.S.O., 1975 91 Avery, Charles, assisted by Arthur Emperatori. Mosaics from the Gilbert Collection: summary catalogue. Exhibition catalogue Victoria & Albert Museum. London: H.M.S.O. 1975, cat. no. 91.
  • Zucker, Martin. 'A great collection of tiny artistry - how it was made'. Smithsonian, May 1977, vol. 8, no. 2, p. 89.
  • The Gilbert Mosaic Collection, Los Angeles : Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1975 52c (10)
Other numbers
  • MM 126 - Arthur Gilbert Number
  • M.77.1.72 - LACMA
  • 1996.275 - The Gilbert Collection, Somerset House
  • MM 19 - Arthur Gilbert Number
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
LOAN:GILBERT.935-2008

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Record createdJune 19, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O156407/snuffbox-petschler-c/
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