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Source Description
Pieces of iridescent shell or mother of pearl were often used to decorate snuffboxes in the 18th century. However, this Dutch snuffbox is carved entirely from a very large piece of shell, likely taken from a pearl oyster. Given its size, it was probably imported from the warm Mediterranean Sea, Indian Ocean, or South Pacific. It is intricately carved to depict the biblical story of the miraculous parting of the Red Sea by Moses to save the Israelites fleeing Egypt.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
39810
label
Cartouche-Shaped Snuffbox
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
4
Source metadata
id
39810
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Cartouche-Shaped Snuffbox
description
Pieces of iridescent shell or mother of pearl were often used to decorate snuffboxes in the 18th century. However, this Dutch snuffbox is carved entirely from a very large piece of shell, likely taken from a pearl oyster. Given its size, it was probably imported from the warm Mediterranean Sea, Indian Ocean, or South Pacific. It is intricately carved to depict the biblical story of the miraculous parting of the Red Sea by Moses to save the Israelites fleeing Egypt.
provenance
George Robinson Harding, London; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1914, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
early 18th century
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Gold, Silver & Jewelry
snuffboxes
imageCount
4
pageCount
4
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
2.5
height
6
dimensionsRaw
1 x 2 3/8 in. (2.5 x 6 cm)
Source extras
med
mother-of-pearl, gold
creator_ids
6227
collection_ids
EAN
exhibition_ids
2689
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
8c53c9f7ecc48c6a
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
1212059ee6b39c51
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
e22298ba191a8138
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
4
type
photo
mediaId
b5a9f275e5df9ca2
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no