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Source Description
Luxurious personal objects were an essential part of a privileged wardrobe during the 1700s and early 1800s, emphasizing their owner’s refinement and wealth. Especially popular were <em>étuis</em>, small ornamented cases containing miniature sewing, writing, or grooming implements that hung at a woman’s waist from an ornate clasp, known as a <em>chatelaine</em>. Despite its glittering surface, this small expensive set disguised a system based on the labor and suffering of enslaved or indentured people, whether in gold and stone mines or the shop where it was made.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
380477
label
Snuff Spoon
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
380477
contentType
object
title
Snuff Spoon
description
Luxurious personal objects were an essential part of a privileged wardrobe during the 1700s and early 1800s, emphasizing their owner’s refinement and wealth. Especially popular were <em>étuis</em>, small ornamented cases containing miniature sewing, writing, or grooming implements that hung at a woman’s waist from an ornate clasp, known as a <em>chatelaine</em>. Despite its glittering surface, this small expensive set disguised a system based on the labor and suffering of enslaved or indentured people, whether in gold and stone mines or the shop where it was made.
date
c. 1770
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q117244720
genreSpecific
Miscellaneous
imageCount
1
source
import
cul
England, 18th century
accession
1916.313.e
Source extras
tec
gilt metal
tombstone
Snuff Spoon, c. 1770. England, 18th century. Gilt metal. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade, 1916.313.e
collection
Decorative Arts
didYouKnow
Stored inside this case are grooming and writing instruments such as a clasp knife, scissors, an ivory tablet, a pencil, a threading needle used for lacing corsets, and an ear scoop.
creditline
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:58:17.348000
sourceId
380477
dept
Decorative Art and Design
coll
Decorative Arts
med
gilt metal
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
e4482dd17e4a9b1e