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A lady at her dressing table: M.58-1984

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An image of Snuff box
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An image of Snuff box
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Current Location: In storage

Titles

A lady at her dressing table
Translated as: oval, tortoise shell box inlaid with gold piqué point work flowers; the interior painted with a vignette of a lady seated before her dressing table

Maker(s)

Maker: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Tortoise shell with chased gilt metal mounts, inlaid gold piqué point work and a painted polychrome vignette in bodycolour, probably on card, under glass. Oval with straight sides with projecting edges and a projecting hinge. The top of the lid is decorated with a flowering tree, rocks, plants and a dragonfly. The base is decorated with a simpler image of a plant, cloud and dragonfly. The interior of the lid is painted with a lady seated before her dressing table and mirror; she reads a letter whilst attended by a black servant bringing chocolate or coffee. The thumbpiece and mount of the lid are chased with stylized foliage and flower heads.

Notes

History note: Not known before donors, Dr and Mrs J.C. Burkill

Legal notes

Given by Dr & Mrs J.C. Burkill

Measurements and weight

Height: 1.6 cm
Length: 8 cm
Width: 6.5 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1984-07-23) by Burkill, J. C., Dr & Mrs

Dating

18th Century, Mid
George II
Louis XV
1730 CE - 1760 CE

School or Style

Rococo

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Painting composed of bodycolour glass
Box composed of tortoise shell
Mounts composed of metal
Piqué Work composed of gold
Surface Of Mounts composed of gold
Gold Piqué

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: M.58-1984
Primary reference Number: 150635

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Wednesday 12 November 2025

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "A lady at her dressing table" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/150635 Accessed: 2025-12-05 07:02:55

Citation for Wikipedia

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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/150635 |title=A lady at her dressing table |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 07:02:55|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-150635

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<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa30/M_58_1984_1_201404_amt49_mas.jpg"
        alt="A lady at her dressing table"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">A lady at her dressing table</figcaption>
    </figure>
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