#gilbert collection

Snuffbox ca. 1765 (made)

This box forms part of the group of snuffboxes associated with Frederick II, the Great of Prussia (r.1740-86). The chrysoprase body was carved from a single stone and richly set with hardstones and diamonds. Chrysoprase was a particular favourite of Frederick. It was mined in Silesia, the first territory which he added to Prussia by conquest in 1740. In his final illness, specimens of polished and rough chrysoprase, as well as his jewels and boxes, were laid out for him to see. The diamonds have been coloured by being set over pale pink, green and lemon yellow metal foils. For more information, see A. Minter et al, Masterpieces in Miniature: Treasures from the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection (London: V&A Publishing, 2021), p.105.

Sir Arthur and Rosalinde Gilbert began collecting in the 1960s and over a period of 40 years formed one of the world’s great private collections of decorative arts. The collection consists of over 800 objects from the fields of European gold and silver, Italian mosaics and hardstone, portrait enamels and gold boxes. Sir Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996 to be housed at Somerset House, London, having previously been displayed at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). In 2008 the collection was moved to dedicated galleries in the V&A, where a selection has been on permanent display ever since.

Length: 10cm Width: 7.8cm Height: 5cm

Chrysoprase table snuffbox About 1765 Chrysoprase was a particular favourite of Frederick the Great. It was mined in Silesia, the first territory he conquered in 1740. Towards the end of Frederick’s life, specimens of polished and rough chrysoprase, as well as his jewels and boxes, were laid out on his sickbed for him to see. Berlin, Germany Chrysoprase, gold, diamonds, carnelians and foil Formerly in the collection of the Prussian empress Auguste Viktoria (1858–1921), wife of Wilhelm II, and their son, Prince Oskar von Preussen Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.412-2008(16/11/2016)

Gold ewer, unknown maker, c.2500 – 2000 BC, Anatolia,

Snuffbox

1775-1780 (made)

This box forms part of the group of snuffboxes associated with Frederick the Great of Prussia, who was a cultivated admirer of the arts. He maintained a lengthy, although sometimes heated, correspondence with the French philosopher Voltaire and was a gifted musician, composer and linguist. He had a passion for gold boxes, some of which he may have designed himself. He carried a box at all times; one is even said to have saved his life by deflecting a bullet during the battle of Kunersdorf in 1759.

Although the goldsmith who made the box is unknown, it is modelled on a design by Jean Guillaume George Krüger. Krüger was a London-born artist who was summoned to Berlin in 1753. Twenty designs for snuffboxes survive, all apparently made before the period around 1774 which he spent working in Paris.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.

Cartouche-shaped snuffbox comprised of seventeen panels of bloodstone mounted in a cagework of gold and set with a profusion of diamonds, some of which are coloured yellow and others foiled. The cover is set with a vase, coloured to resemble porphyry, in which is set a bouquet of stylised flowers comprised of emeralds, rubies and diamonds, with smaller flowers. This is bordered by diamonds set in gold and sprigs of flowers. The walls of the box are divided into six reserves set with sprays of flowers. The base is encrusted in a similar fashion with a smaller bouquet of cut flowers.

Depth: 7.3cm

Width: 9.5cm

Height: 5.4cm

Weight: 360g

Collective Gymnastics on Ladders, by Max Penson, 1930s With PhotoLondon opening this week, I found myself remembering that great photography was shown at Somerset House before PhotoLondon was ever a thing.  There used to be housed in the Embankment Galleries at the lower level the great hoard of the Gilbert Collection, since then moved to the Victoria & Albert Museum.  The Gilbert Collection,…

Cup

1598-1602 (hallmarked)

The Nürnberg maker Jörg Ruel, who made this cup and cover in the form of a partridge, was known for setting precious materials and natural curiosities in mounts of gilded silver. This cup is notable for the naturalistic effect of the carving. A similar cup by the 16th-century Nürnberg goldsmith Friedrich Hillebrandt can be found in Dresden.

The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Schatzkammer is one of the few collections of its kind formed in the late 20th century. The Schatzkammer, or treasury, was a new concept in the 16th century. It referred to a special chamber in which the most precious artefacts of a princely collection were housed. Gold and jewelled objects were mounted alongside exotic natural curiosities, including rock crystal, nautilus shells and ostrich eggs. Together they demonstrated not only the wonders of nature and the technical achievements of the artist, but also the intellect and culture of the patron.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.

Silver-gilt, gold, mother-of-pearl, gems (eyes and collar, some emeralds possibly reset), green and red pastes (body)

Height: 27cm Width: 14cm Depth: 10.5cm Weight: 1000g

Snuffbox

ca. 1750 (made)

The cover of this box is in the shape of a scallop shell, while the base is a different, stylized shell form. The gold mounts are also chased with shells. The stonecutting suggests it was made in Germany, however the gold chasing could possibly be English. Many goldsmiths working in London at the time were of German origin.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.

Length: 7.7cm

Width: 6.1cm

Height: 1.6cm

3. Shell-shaped snuffbox, about 1750 Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.398-2008(16/11/2016)

Table,1861-90 (made)

This table is a remarkable testimony to Italian craftsmanship and patriotism shortly after the unification of the nation in 1861. It is the only known piece of furniture to show micromosaics not only on the top, but also on the curved surfaces of the pedestal. The imagery is typical for pro-Italian art of the era, and shows the god Apollo in his chariot at the centre of the table top, surrounded by allegories of the Four Seasons and Elements. The depiction of Earth under Apollo can be read as a personification of Italy which was taken from antiquity and became a symbol of Italian unification.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.

On long-term loan to Los Angeles County Museum from 2010.

This object consists of 2 parts.

Tabletop Base

Octagonal tabletop with a white ground mosaic depicting Apollo in the centre within a square reserve with a convex lobe on each side. These are connected to four quatrefoil reserves with figures of putti with flowers which alternate with four bust-length allegorical figures of the Elements. The octagonal pedestal base has a spreading eight-lobed octagonal foot resting on eight gilt-bronze tortoises and is decorated with four panels of micromosaic depicting the Seasons.

Length: 85.1cm

Width: 133.7cm

Height: 81.6cm

Partridge cup, 1598 – 1602, Nuremberg, Germany.

Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.60:1, 2-2008. © The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum