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Snuffbox

1765 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This box forms part of the group of snuffboxes associated with Frederick II, the Great, of Prussia, notable for their size and lavish decoration. Frederick was a cultivated admirer of the arts. He maintained a lengthy, although sometimes heated correspondence with the French philosopher Voltaire and was a gifted musician, composer and linguist. He had a passion for gold boxes, and showed a keen interest in their design. He carried a box at all times; one is even said to have saved his life by deflecting a bullet during the battle of Kunersdorf in 1759.

This box is one of the most flamboyant of the surviving boxes, richly decorated with swirling rococo ornament, set with coloured hardstones and a profusion of diamonds.

The box has a contemporary shagreen case.

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.

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read An A – Z of gemstones Brightly coloured and highly polished stones, sometimes called gems, have been used for devotion and decoration for millennia. Extracted from the earth, cut into blocks, carved into sculptural forms or inlaid in furniture – decorative art objects are encrusted with the stuff. Discover some...

Object details

Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Snuffbox
  • Case
Materials and techniques
Mother-of-pearl plaques mounted 'a cage' in gold, chased in three colours set with circular cut diamonds and encrusted with citrine, amethyst and coloured or foiled quartz.
Brief description
Gold, mother of pearl, diamonds, rubies, hardstones and foil snuffbox and case, Berlin, circa 1765
Physical description
A cartouche-shaped, varicoloured-gold-mounted, jeweled mother-of-pearl snuffbox compromising mother-of-pearl plaques mounted within a cagework of gold chased with flowers and scrolls. Blossoms, buds, and leaves on stems are formed from carved stones, porcelain, glass and gems; flowers and leaves are made of materials such as rubies, sapphires, spinel, emeralds, bloodstone, turquoise, citrine, quartz and paste. (These stones are sometimes mounted with painted foil beneath to alter their colour.) The rest of the snuffbox is encrusted with various-sized circular-cut diamonds with foils tinted pink, green, and yellow along with yellow diamonds and rubies. The rim of the cover is set with three large cushion cut diamonds and one large pear shaped diamond over pale pink foils. There is a contemporary shagreen case.
Dimensions
  • Length: 10cm
  • Width: 8.1cm
  • Height: 5.2cm
Gallery label
  • 1. Table snuffbox with flowers About 1765 One of the most flamboyant of Frederick’s collection, this box is decorated with swirling Rococo ornament and set with coloured gemstones and diamonds, some tinted pink, green and yellow by pigmented foils. The forget-me-not flowers are carved from turquoise, with yellow centres made of glass. The box’s original leather case can be seen in the showcase opposite (drawer 2, ‘German States’). Berlin, Germany Mother-of-pearl, gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphire, spinel, amethyst, turquoise, hardstones, glass and foil Formerly in the collections of the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and the Duke of Anhalt-Dessau Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.413-2008(16/11/2016)
Credit line
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Object history
Provenance: King Frederick II of Prussia. Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 1914. Duke of Anhalt-Dessau, 1929. Christie's, Geneva, lot. 176 ('property of a German Royal House), May 11, 1982. S. J. Phillips, London.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This box forms part of the group of snuffboxes associated with Frederick II, the Great, of Prussia, notable for their size and lavish decoration. Frederick was a cultivated admirer of the arts. He maintained a lengthy, although sometimes heated correspondence with the French philosopher Voltaire and was a gifted musician, composer and linguist. He had a passion for gold boxes, and showed a keen interest in their design. He carried a box at all times; one is even said to have saved his life by deflecting a bullet during the battle of Kunersdorf in 1759.

This box is one of the most flamboyant of the surviving boxes, richly decorated with swirling rococo ornament, set with coloured hardstones and a profusion of diamonds.

The box has a contemporary shagreen case.

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
  • Truman, Charles.The Gilbert collection of gold boxes, Vol. I. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1991, cat. no. 73, pp. 216-219. ISBN.0875871623
  • Biermann, George. Deutsches Barock und Rokoko. Leipzig , 1914, pl. 630.
  • Klar, Martin. 'Die Tabatieren Friedrichs des Grossen', Der Cicerone. Leipzig: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1929, vol. 21, p. 9, fig. 4.
  • Habsburg-Lothringen, Géza von. Gold boxes from the collection of Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert. R. & A. Gilbert, 1983. 125 p., ill. Cat. no. 38, pp.77-80. ISBN. 0961039809.
  • Solodkoff, Alexander von and Géza von Habsburg. 'Tabatieren Friedrichs des Grossen', Kunst und Antiquitäten, 1983, no. 3, figs. 5-6, pp. 36, 38.
  • Snowman, A. Kenneth. Eighteenth century gold boxes of Europe, rev. ed. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors’ Club, 1990, pl. 738. ISBN. 1851490728
  • Schroder, Timothy, ed. The Gilbert Collection at the V&A. London (V&A Publishing) 2009, pl. 43, p. 58. ISBN9781851775934
  • Baer, Winfried. Prunk-Tabatieren Friedrichs des Grossen.. Exhibition catalogue Potsdam. Munich: Hirmer Verlag 1993. Cat. no. 43, pp. 62-64 (ill.)
  • Zech, Heike. Gold Boxes. Masterpieces from the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection. London: V&A Publishing, 2015, pp. 82-83, no. 25. ISBN 987-1-85177-840-9
  • Schroder, Timothy. Gold boxes : from the Gilbert collection : an exhibition, Los Angeles : Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1986 27
Other numbers
  • GB 45 - Arthur Gilbert Number
  • 1996.405 - The Gilbert Collection, Somerset House
Collection
Accession number
LOAN:GILBERT.413:1 to 2-2008

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Record createdJune 26, 2008
Record URL
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