Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Presentation Box
(18th and 19th Centuries )
In 1839, seven years after the Russian Empire had absorbed the Kingdom of Poland, Nicholas I presented this box to I. C. Singels, a hydraulic engineer for the Bank of Poland. On the face of the box, an urn containing a splendid floral bouquet is rendered in quatre-couleur gold over a sablé or finely stippled background. These motifs are framed by exuberant Rococo scrolls partially decorated with black champlevé enamel. The rest of the box face is covered with floral designs in blue champlevé enamel. The reverse side, in contrast, is severely neoclassical style with borders of laurel leaves and corners decorated with fleur de lys. As demonstrated by this box, goldsmiths in the late 18th and early 19th centuries tended to exploit their extraordinary technical mastery of quatre-couleur gold and to assign enameling a secondary role.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Sotheby's Sale, Geneva, July 11, 1989; purchased by Jean M. Riddell, Washington, D.C., 1989 [Leo Kaplan, New York, as agent]; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 2010.
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 9/23/2011 | Examination | examined for exhibition |
| 9/23/2011 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 9/23/2011 | Treatment | The box was made by Johann Wilhelm Keibel in 1939 and given by Tsar Nicolas I to a Polish hydraulic engineer, I. C. Singels, associated with the Bank of Poland. A dedicatory inscription is engraved on the inside of the lid. The box is made of rose colored gold and decorated with gold a quatre couleurs and blue and black champleve enamel. The box is in nearly pristine condition and was cleaned to remove superficial grime. |
Geographies
Russia, St. Petersburg (Place of Origin)
Credit Line
Bequest of Mrs. Jean M. Riddell, 2010
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
44.967