{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O156557"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O156557/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2008BU2177/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2008BU2177/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2008BU2177","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London/ © the Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Collection, on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London ","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2008BU2706","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London/ © the Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Collection, on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London ","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2008BU2705","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London/ © the Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Collection, on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London ","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2008BU2707","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London/ © the Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Collection, on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London ","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2008BU2709","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London/ © the Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Collection, on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London ","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2008BU2708","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London/ © the Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Collection, on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London ","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2008BU2435","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London/ © the Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Collection, on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London ","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2008BU2434","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London/ © the Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Collection, on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London ","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O156557/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O156557","accessionNumber":"LOAN:GILBERT.495-2008","objectType":"Snuffbox","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"On the cover of this box, two men and a woman congregate beneath a statue of the Roman god Mercury. Castles and churches decorate the box's exterior. The interior shows Cardinal Albani's garden outside Rome. This scene was probably inspired by an engraving in a book of Italian views by Johann Wilhelm Baur (1681).\r\n\r\nSnuffboxes made out of porcelain followed the shapes of those made in gold and hardstones. Painted scenes or portraits ornamented the sides, covers and interiors. Changing forms and decoration were important, as these fashion accessories might be chosen to match the season or a particular costume. Most European (though rarely English) porcelain factories made snuffboxes. The largest producer was Meissen in Germany, which manufactured vast quantities of boxes from about 1735-65. A price list of 1765 mentions 11 varieties, the cheapest painted with flowers.  The porcelain of this box was produced there, whilst the mounts possibly came from Dresden.\r\n\r\nSir 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.","physicalDescription":"Rectangular snuffbox of hard-paste porcelain painted in enamels and gilt, mounted in gold chased in waves. The cover is painted with three figures in a landscape before a statue of Mercury with a cathedral and further figures in the background; the interior of the cover with numerous figures around a fountain surrounded by neatly clipped hedges in the garden of Cardinal Albani; the base, which is formed of one piece and painted by a different hand, is decorated with five views of castles or churches in landscapes and mounted in a cagework of gold chased in waves around the borders and at the corners. The interior is gilt.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"gold","id":"AAT11021"},{"text":"porcelain","id":"AAT10662"},{"text":"enamel","id":"AAT14910"}],"techniques":[{"text":"chasing","id":"AAT54016"},{"text":"slip casting","id":"AAT53907"},{"text":"painting (image-making)","id":"AAT54216"},{"text":"gilding","id":"AAT53789"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Chased gold and enamelled and gilt porcelain","categories":[{"text":"Personal accessories","id":"THES48912"},{"text":"Containers","id":"THES48972"},{"text":"Enamels","id":"THES48876"},{"text":"Porcelain","id":"THES48907"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"MET","id":"THES48599"},"images":["2008BU2177","2008BU2706","2008BU2705","2008BU2707","2008BU2709","2008BU2708","2008BU2435","2008BU2434"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"010","id":"THES410184"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"snuffbox","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Meissen","id":"x35076"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"box"},{"place":{"text":"Dresden (city)","id":"x28810"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"mounts, possibly"}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"ca. 1750","earliest":"1745-01-01","latest":"1754-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"6.1","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"7.9","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"3.7","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Weight","value":"160","unit":"g","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"Measured 04/03/24 IW ","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Provenance: Christie's, Geneva,  lot 367, November 16, 1992.  S. J. Phillips, London..","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Rectangular snuffbox of porcelain painted in enamels and gilt, the cover is painted with three figures in a landscape before a statue of Mercury with a cathedral and further figures in the background.","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Truman, Charles. <u>The Gilbert collection of gold boxes, volume II</u>, London: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd., 1999,  cat. no. 27, p. 51.  ISBN.0856675210."}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"figures","id":"x31098"},{"text":"landscape","id":"x35496"},{"text":"garden","id":"AAT8090"},{"text":"castles","id":"AAT6891"},{"text":"churches","id":"AAT7466"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"11. Snuffbox\r\nAbout 1750\r\n\r\nThe scenes on this box depict figures in idyllic river landscapes. The buildings are inspired by historic architecture, including the royal palaces of Dresden. They are transformed beyond recognition and shown out of their urban context.\r\n\r\nBox: Meissen, Germany\r\nMounts: possibly Dresden, Germany\r\nHard-paste porcelain, enamel colours and gold\r\nMuseum no. Loan:Gilbert.495-2008","date":{"text":"16/11/2016","earliest":"2016-11-16","latest":"2016-11-16"}},{"text":"Snuffbox with statue of Mercury\r\nAbout 1750\r\nOn the cover, two men and a woman meet beneath a statue of the god Mercury. Castles and churches decorate the exterior. The interior shows Cardinal Albani’s garden outside Rome. This scene was probably inspired by an engraving in a book of Italian views by\r\nJohann Wilhelm Baur (1681).\r\nBox: Meissen, Germany\r\nMounts: possibly Dresden, Germany\r\nHard-paste porcelain, enamel colours and gold\r\nMuseum no. Loan:Gilbert.495-2008","date":{"text":"2009","earliest":"2009-01-01","latest":"2009-12-31"}},{"text":"Snuffbox with\r\nidealised river landscapes\r\nAbout 1750\r\nThe scenes depict figures against the idyllic backdrop of river landscapes. The impressive buildings are inspired by historic architecture, such as the castle of Dresden on the top of the lid. They are shown out of context and far from the urban settings of the actual buildings.\r\nBox: Meissen, Germany\r\nMounts: possibly Dresden, Germany\r\nHard-paste porcelain, enamel colours and gold\r\nMuseum no. Loan:Gilbert.495-2008","date":{"text":"2011","earliest":"2011-01-01","latest":"2011-12-31"}}],"partNumbers":["LOAN:GILBERT.495-2008"],"accessionNumberNum":"495","accessionNumberPrefix":"LOAN:GILBERT","accessionYear":2008,"otherNumbers":[{"type":{"text":"Arthur Gilbert Number","id":"THES50383"},"number":"GB 168"},{"type":{"text":"The Gilbert Collection, Somerset House","id":"THES50384"},"number":"1996.517"}],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":["2018LC1520","2019LR3083","2019LT5266","2019LU2149"],"recordModificationDate":"2026-05-08","recordCreationDate":"2008-06-19","availableToBook":false}}