Tobacco Box
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1810
This tobacco box is a lidded metal container produced in 1810, possibly in Birmingham, England. It features an oval cylindrical body with a flat-bottomed base and a stepped, domed cover topped with a turned finial. The side of the vessel displays engraved characters and a date, set against the smooth surface of the metalwork.
The piece is constructed from two distinct alloys: cast pewter for the base and Britannia metal for the top. It measures 13.4 × 12.1 × 8.9 cm (5 1/4 × 4 3/4 × 3 1/2 in.). The box reflects early nineteenth-century English metalworking craftsmanship in pewter and related tin-based alloys.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Cast pewter (base) and Britannia (top)
- Dimensions
- 13.4 × 12.1 × 8.9 cm (5 1/4 × 4 3/4 × 3 1/2 in.)
Technical characteristics
- Maker recorded
- Possibly Birmingham, England
- Place recorded
- England
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Art Institute of Chicago collection record for this single object; how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Museum object name
- Tobacco Box
- Museum object number
- 1979.695a-b
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.