{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O48607"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O48607/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AM8593/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AM8593/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006AM8593","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006AM8592","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O48607/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O48607","accessionNumber":"W.1-1956","objectType":"Box","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"<b>Object Type</b><br>This small box was used to carry snuff (powdered tobacco).  It was made from a cross section of an elephant tusk. Two of the mother-of-pearl circles set in red wax resin on the lid contain the initials E and H but the original owner remains a mystery.  <br><br><b>Maker</b><br>The lid is lined with a disc of horn inscribed <i>Virgo fecit @ Shefield 1653</i> ('Virgo made [this] at Sheffield, 1653').  The inscription may be a pun on the name Maden or Madin because  <i>virgo</i> is Latin for 'maiden'.  A family of cutlers with this surname was working in Sheffield in the late 17th century. Perhaps this brassmaker was one of their forebears.<br><br><b>Use</b><br>Tobacco first came into general use in western Europe around 1570. It was highly prized for its medicinal and narcotic properties and by the 1630s was used by all classes, despite its cost. Snuff was formed from fermented tobacco, mixed with various combinations of perfumed oils, herbs or spices into a compressed block. It was then grated to make a fine powder ready for inhalation. Snuff was taken by both sexes, though women tended to use it privately.  <br><br><b>Historical Associations</b><br>All the brass cases by 'Virgo' date to the Commonwealth period.  They were probably made specifically for Royalist supporters. The cryptic inscriptions in Latin were an ingenious way of concealing the maker's identity when Royalist sympathies were unfashionable and dangerous. Also, both lavish decoration of this box and the very habit of taking snuff were condemned by the Puritans.","physicalDescription":"Cylindrical ivory box, probably made from one section of tusk. The top of the lid is decorated with 8 circles mother of pearl inlay around a central disc, in varying quatre-foil shapes and set a red wax resin. Two of the circles contain the letters E & H. Both the box and its lid are held together with brass bands which are scalloped and have an incised pattern of hearts and half moons. Attached to the bottom band is the catch which is fashioned in the shape of an imaginary crested bird (the beak fits into the hook on the lid). The top and bottom of the interior of the box are lined with discs of horn. There is a label inside the box which indicates that the initials 'EH' refer to Edward Hyde Lord Clarendon, but there is nothing on record to verify this. Along with the inscription: virgo fecit @ Sheffield 1653 on the horn on the inside of the lid, there is another inscription in a different (later?) hand of three letter, possibly f u t, but it is nearly indecipherable.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Virgo","id":"A8074"},"association":{"text":"maker","id":"AAT251917"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"ivory","id":"AAT11857"},{"text":"mother of pearl","id":"AAT11835"},{"text":"brass (alloy)","id":"AAT10946"},{"text":"resin","id":"AAT12882"}],"techniques":[{"text":"inlay (process)","id":"AAT53850"},{"text":"incising","id":"AAT53847"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Ivory, bound with brass, inlaid with mother-of pearl, with horn inside the lid and base","categories":[{"text":"British Galleries","id":"THES48985"},{"text":"Furniture","id":"THES48948"},{"text":"Containers","id":"THES48972"},{"text":"Woodwork","id":"THES48877"},{"text":"Medieval and renaissance","id":"THES271264"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"FWK","id":"THES48597"},"images":["2006AM8593","2006AM8592"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"56D (VA)","id":"THES49242"},"free":"","case":"CA3","shelf":"","box":"14"}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Box","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Sheffield","id":"x29138"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1653","earliest":"1653-01-01","latest":"1653-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given in memory of Dr W. L. Hildburgh FSA, by Alfred Spero","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"3","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"closed","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"5.3","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"4.2","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"Dimensions checked: Measured; 12/07/1999 by DW","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"Inscribed: Virgo fecit/ Sheffield/1653","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":"A8877"},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":""}],"objectHistory":"A Sheffield craftsman named Madin or Maden made these pieces and signed his work 'Virgo', a pun on 'maiden'. The sealing wax case carries a portrait of Charles I on the hinge. If Madin worked for Royalist clients this may explain his disguised name and cryptic inscriptions.","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Ivory box, bound with brass and inlaid with mother-of pearl, made by 'Virgo', Sheffield, 1653","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"BOX\r\nENGLISH; dated 1653\r\nIvory , bound with brass and inlaid with mother-of-pearl.  The inside of the lid is inscribed 'Virgo fecit Sheffield 1653'.","date":{"text":"pre October 2000","earliest":null,"latest":"2000-09-30"}}],"partNumbers":["W.1-1956"],"accessionNumberNum":"1","accessionNumberPrefix":"W","accessionYear":1956,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":["2019LN0728","2019LR0752","2019LU3485"],"recordModificationDate":"2025-09-08","recordCreationDate":"2000-09-25","availableToBook":false}}