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Snuff box: M.92-1961

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An image of Snuff box
Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Maker: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Wide oval, tortoise shell box with gold mounts set with a carved ivory cameo of a winged scribe

Tortoise shell with gold mounts, set with a carved ivory cameo on wood under glass. Wide oval with straight sides, a rim mount and concealed hinge. The top of the flat lid is set with a circular cameo of a seated winged scribe, facing left, on a wood ground, within a mount which overlaps the projecting thumbpiece.

Notes

History note: Not known before testator

Legal notes

L.C.G. Clarke Bequest, 1960

Measurements and weight

Height: 3.5 cm
Length: 9.5 cm
Width: 4.5 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1960-12-13) by Clarke, Louis Colville Gray

Dating

18th Century, Late-19th Century, Early
1790 CE - 1820 CE

Note

The gold does not bear a maker's mark

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Cameo Background composed of wood
Box composed of tortoise shell
Mounts composed of gold
Cameo composed of ivory
Cameo Cover composed of glass
Gold
Ivory
Wood

Identification numbers

Accession number: M.92-1961
Primary reference Number: 150679

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 29 April 2024

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) "Snuff box" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/150679 Accessed: 2025-12-05 20:23:08

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/150679 |title=Snuff box |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 20:23:08|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

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https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-150679

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<div class="text-center">
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        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa24/M_92_1961_20_281_29.jpg"
        alt="Snuff box"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Snuff box</figcaption>
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