Souvenir

Unknown

mid-18th century · Gold, agate · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

In eighteenth-century Europe, Paris led the production of high-quality luxury goods. Parisian goldsmiths made a wide range of small, personal articles such as snuffboxes; étuis to hold sealing wax, tweezers, or utensils for sewing; souvenirs, which contained thin ivory tablets for note taking; and shuttles for knotting lace. Gold snuffboxes, boxes, and objets de luxe were skillfully made of gold and embellished with diamonds, enameled decoration, lacquer, and other luxurious materials. This souvenir contains a mirror, four ivory leaves, gold-mounted pencil, and six narrow, velvet-lined compartments for implements.

Artist

Unknown

Date

mid-18th century

Medium

Gold, agate

Culture

British or French

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917