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Source Description
As demonstrated by this box that originally belonged to Princess Mary, a daughter of King George III of England, the goldsmith can vary the color of gold by alloying (combining) it with other metals. The colors vary depending on the metals used. The introduction of copper results in red, silver in green, and platinum in white. This technique, which was perfected during the 18th century, is known as "quatre-couleur" (four-colored) regardless of the number of colors used.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
9814
label
Oval ""Quatre-Couleur"" Snuffbox
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
9814
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Oval ""Quatre-Couleur"" Snuffbox
description
As demonstrated by this box that originally belonged to Princess Mary, a daughter of King George III of England, the goldsmith can vary the color of gold by alloying (combining) it with other metals. The colors vary depending on the metals used. The introduction of copper results in red, silver in green, and platinum in white. This technique, which was perfected during the 18th century, is known as "quatre-couleur" (four-colored) regardless of the number of colors used.
provenance
Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh [1776-1857], England; by bequest to Prince George, Duke of Cambridge [1819-1904], England, 1857; Sale, Christie's, London, June 8 1904; acquired by Henry Walters, Baltimore; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
date
ca. 1760
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
snuffboxes
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
3.8
height
6.2
dimensionsRaw
H: 1 1/2 x W: 2 7/16 in. (3.8 x 6.2 cm)
Source extras
med
gold and gold alloy
creator_ids
6229
collection_ids
EAN
exhibition_ids
826
2689
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
92339e868ad9e5b2
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
64b3cfbb7fdaf698
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no