Canister
ca. 1685 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Canisters of this type were used for storage. This example has a screw cover to keep its contents airtight. The style and subject matter of this piece is typical of the German Augsburg silversmiths. Famous Roman figures and politicians which decorate the canister are frequently found on embossed plate of the period.
Outside the wealthiest court circles, 17th-century silver was used primarily for eating and drinking. The dining table was the heart of social activity, and novelty items were made for fashionable new drinks flavoured with spices and drinking games. The range of British silver for the home from this period (the first for which a representative quantity survives) demonstrates increasing foreign influences from France, the Netherlands and Portugal. The rising demand for fashionably decorated European silver from the 1660s onwards reflects Britain’s new wealth and political stability.
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.
Outside the wealthiest court circles, 17th-century silver was used primarily for eating and drinking. The dining table was the heart of social activity, and novelty items were made for fashionable new drinks flavoured with spices and drinking games. The range of British silver for the home from this period (the first for which a representative quantity survives) demonstrates increasing foreign influences from France, the Netherlands and Portugal. The rising demand for fashionably decorated European silver from the 1660s onwards reflects Britain’s new wealth and political stability.
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 | |
Object type | |
Parts | This object consists of 4 parts.
|
Materials and techniques | Cut from sheet silver, raised, partially gilded silver (parcel-gilt) and nielloed silver |
Brief description | Silver, parcel-gilt and niello, Augsburg, ca.1685, mark of Philipp Jacob Drentwett |
Physical description | Hexagonal canister, with straight sides with large rectangular niello panels reserved within gilded borders and engraved with ovals containing portrait medallions of Roman Republicans surrounded by scrolling foliage and birds. The domed screw-on cover has a niello engraving of a laurel wreath and a hinged handle of hexagonal section. |
Dimensions |
|
Gallery label | (Gallery 70, case 3)
2. Canister with Roman figures
About 1685
Canisters with a screw top were often used for storage and were typical products of Augsburg goldsmiths in the 17th century. Busts of statesmen, generals and philosophers served as character models, sometimes based on ancient Roman examples that would have been familiar to elite patrons.
Augsburg, Germany; Philipp Jacob Drentwett III (about 1643–1708)
Partially gilded silver and niello
Depicted: Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC), Cato the Younger (95–46 BC), Gaius Marius (86–57 BC), Titus Quinctius Flaminius (about 229–174 BC), Gnaeus Pompeius (106–48 BC) and Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (236–183 BC)
Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.606:1 to 4-2008(16/11/2016) |
Credit line | The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
Object history | Provenance: Purchased from S.J. Phillips, Ltd., London, 1985. |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | Canisters of this type were used for storage. This example has a screw cover to keep its contents airtight. The style and subject matter of this piece is typical of the German Augsburg silversmiths. Famous Roman figures and politicians which decorate the canister are frequently found on embossed plate of the period. Outside the wealthiest court circles, 17th-century silver was used primarily for eating and drinking. The dining table was the heart of social activity, and novelty items were made for fashionable new drinks flavoured with spices and drinking games. The range of British silver for the home from this period (the first for which a representative quantity survives) demonstrates increasing foreign influences from France, the Netherlands and Portugal. The rising demand for fashionably decorated European silver from the 1660s onwards reflects Britain’s new wealth and political stability. 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 reference | Schroder, Timothy. The Gilbert collection of gold and silver. Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) 1988, cat. no. 151, pp. 557-59. ISBN.0875871445 |
Other numbers |
|
Collection | |
Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.606:1 to 4-2008 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
Record created | June 26, 2008 |
Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest