Box

Johann Christian Sick

ca. 1800 · Silver · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

These silver boxes, part of larger silver, presumably were used to keep sweets and other delicacies, as the handy form and tightly closing lids suggest. The ciphers below closed crowns belong to Charlotte Augusta Mathilde, queen of Wurttemberg (1766-1828). The form mirrors the Neoclassical principles of German silver design towards a formal reduction of the shape and geometry. The daring juxtaposition of plain polished areas with matted ornamental applications has an astonishingly modern aesthetic.

Artist

Johann Christian Sick

Date

ca. 1800

Medium

Silver

Culture

German, Stuttgart

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Purchase, Gift of Dr. Mortimer D. Sackler, Theresa Sackler and Family; Friends of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts and The Isak and Rose Weinman Foundation Inc. Gifts; Rogers Fund; and Cynthia and Steven Brill, Werwaiss Family Charitable Trust, and Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation Gifts, 2005