Tobacco box
The box is oblong with shaped ends. A brass cartouche on the lid repeats the outline of the box. The cartouche shows a couple embracing each other outside a house, a second man is about to enter the house. The scene is framed by leaf scrolls and the inscription: Ik heb een oude man/die mijn nie kan behage (I have an old husband/who can't please me). The cartouche on the underside, which is also flanked by leaf scrolls, shows a man and a woman indoors next to a cradle. Inscribed: Maer thuis [?] vraegt 't werk/ dat ik niet heb te klage (But the work at home [?] is demanding/so I don't have to complain).
The rims are lined, the edges molded, and the borders engraved with leaf scrolls and zigzag line decoration. Leaf scrolls are engraved on the side in front and on the ends. The back of the side has geometrical ornament.
The rims are lined, the edges molded, and the borders engraved with leaf scrolls and zigzag line decoration. Leaf scrolls are engraved on the side in front and on the ends. The back of the side has geometrical ornament.
Artwork Details
- Title: Tobacco box
- Date: 17th–18th century
- Culture: Dutch
- Medium: Brass, copper
- Dimensions: 5 1/4 × 2 5/8 × 1 1/2 in. (13.3 × 6.7 × 3.8 cm)
- Classification: Metalwork-Brass
- Credit Line: Bequest of Flora E. Whiting, 1971
- Object Number: 1971.180.212
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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Johann Heinrich Giese
ca. 1760–65
Dutch
18th century
Dutch
18th century
probably Netherlandish
early 17th century
Jan Jansen Bockeltz
ca. 1605–10
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