Tobacco box (celepa) octagonal, silver, suasa (copper and gold alloy) and gold, Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, 19th century

Tobacco box (celepa) of elongated octagonal shape, silver, suasa (copper and gold alloy) and gold; chased and repoussé with floral design and foliation.

Bequeathed by E.S. Wilkinson

IS.250 to 451-1950 and IS.1 to 7-1952, came from the collection of Mr. Richard James Wilkinson (1867-1941), who was formerly Deputy Governor of the Straits Settlement (1911 to 1916) and later Governor of Sierra Leone (1916-1922). He had acquired a collection of mostly Malay silverware and goldware, niello work, arms, etc. in Singapore and the Federated Malay States, which on 23 June 1919 was lent to the Indian Section of the V&A with the possibility of later making a bequest. A second loan of Malay brasswork followed on 31 October 1921. A total of 209 pieces were finally bequeathed to the V&A on 26 October 1950 following the death of his widow, Mrs Edith Sinclair Wilkinson.

Portable tobacco or betel boxes were in vogue in the 19th century and came in a wide variety of materials and shapes. They were accessories for the wealthy and hung on chains attached to a belt or to the corner of a kerchief that was thrown over the shoulder. Tobacco boxes of octagonal and flattened spherical form derived from European pocket watches. The rectangular box recalls 18th-century Dutch tobacco boxes, a style that appeared mainly in Sumatra and Java where the Dutch had a strong presence.

IS.300-1950