{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O7796"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O7796/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AM3151/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AM3151/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006AM3151","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006AM3150","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017JU1493","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O7796/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O7796","accessionNumber":"M.695:1, 2-1926","objectType":"Tobacco box","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"<b>Object Type</b><br>This silver tobacco box was intended for personal use. Silver tobacco boxes of the mid-17th century were usually oval and plain in form, with a slip-on lid. This example bears the most common type of decoration, engraved heraldic ornament on the lid. It also has a cabled wire ornament at the rim and base.<br><br><b>Ownership & Use</b><br>Tobacco first came into general use in Western Europe around 1570, when it was highly prized for its medicinal and narcotic properties. By the 1630s, however, taking tobacco had become a highly popular social and pleasurable habit for all classes, despite its cost. Tobacco was either smoked in a pipe or chewed. New accessories such as boxes, pipe stoppers and pipe stands were developed for this exotic material. Wealthy consumers might  own a silver or silver-gilt box, but  boxes of base metals and wood were also used. The development of snuff and snuff taking (the inhaling of powdered tobacco through the nostrils), and the accessories for it, followed that of tobacco.","physicalDescription":"Silver with engraving and applied cabled wire","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"sterling silver","id":"AAT10977"}],"techniques":[{"text":"engraving (incising)","id":"AAT53829"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Silver, engraved","categories":[{"text":"Metalwork","id":"THES48920"},{"text":"Containers","id":"THES48972"},{"text":"Personal accessories","id":"THES48912"},{"text":"British Galleries","id":"THES48985"},{"text":"Caribbean","id":"THES286921"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"MET","id":"THES48599"},"images":["2006AM3151","2006AM3150","2017JU1493"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"56E","id":"THES49241"},"free":"","case":"CA1","shelf":"","box":"10"},{"current":{"text":"56E","id":"THES49241"},"free":"","case":"CA1","shelf":"","box":"10"}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Box","id":""}],[{"text":"Lid","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"London","id":"x28980"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1655-1656","earliest":"1655-01-01","latest":"1656-12-31"},"association":{"text":"hallmarked","id":"x32454"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Lt. Col. G. B. Croft-Lyons Bequest","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"2.4","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"7.2","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"9","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"Weight: 3 oz 8 dwt\r\n0.106 \r\nDimensions checked: Measured; 31/05/2000 by AS","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Bequest - Croft Lyon","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Tobacco Box, silver, English, 17th century","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"This box was made to be carried in the pocket, a practice which has worn away the corded moulding. As smoking and taking snuff increased in popularity, so decorative accessories such as boxes, pipe stoppers, raspers and stands for clay pipes came into use. When tobacco was to be taken in the form of snuff, it was rubbed into powder on a rasper. Tobacco boxes occasionally occur in lists of silver in the early 17th century. In 1646 Thomas Knyvett ordered two 'of Hillingsworth tobacco boxes with the King's picture of silver, and a silver stopper' costing 4s 6d each (22 ½ pence)\r\nGallery 55 case 10","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null}},{"text":"British Galleries:\r\nBritish merchants imported tobacco from the Americas in ever-increasing quantities throughout the 17th century. They also transported growing numbers of African slaves to work on plantations in the West Indies, producing tobacco as a luxury product for Europe.","date":{"text":"27/03/2003","earliest":"2003-03-27","latest":"2003-03-27"}}],"partNumbers":["M.695:1-1926","M.695:2-1926"],"accessionNumberNum":"695","accessionNumberPrefix":"M","accessionYear":1926,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE","Box","Lid"],"assets":["2019LN1381","2019LN2528","2019LR2231","2019LP5860","2019LP4458","2019LP1137","2019LU2677","2019LV5306"],"recordModificationDate":"2025-11-14","recordCreationDate":"1998-06-05","availableToBook":false}}