Nautilus shell box

1619/20, with later restorations

Not on view

The fashion for nautilus cups as table decorations originated in the Low Countries, and impresses us as a typical choice for a seafaring nation. Most of the shells came from distant oceans, and their silver or silver-gilt mounts retained the flavor of the sea by featuring marine motifs. From the Low Countries the fashion for these cups spread to Germany and to England. In England they remained rare, however, and so far as we know this is the only English nautilus cup of the period.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Nautilus shell box
Date: 1619/20, with later restorations
Culture: British, London
Medium: Nautilus shell, silver
Dimensions: Height: 5 in. (12.7 cm)
Classification: Metalwork-Silver In Combination
Credit Line: Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1968
Object Number: 68.141.228
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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