Box, Russia, ca. 1830
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
ca. 1830
Box in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum number 450-1895), made in Russia, dated ca. 1830. The museum's brief description reads: Box and games counters, ebony and walrus ivory, Russia (Archangel), ca. 1830. Museum description: The hinged rectangular box is lined in paper and red velvet. The sides of the box and slanting panels of the cover are pierced with festoons of flowers and leaves on a network ground. The flat panel of the cover is also pierced with a basket of flowers, which are symmetrically arranged. The box has four small integral feet and contains four octagonal baskets filled with red, green, yellow and white pierced ivory pieces. The museum records it as Ebony and walrus ivory. with brass hinges., measuring Height 6.5 cm; Width 12.7 cm; Depth 10.2 cm. These details come from the museum's own record; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet been independently verified.
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.
Historical context
This walrus ivory box and games counters, made in Russia (Archangel) in ca. 1830, has slanting sides and panels, while the cover is pierced with festoons of flowers and leaves on a network ground. Russia has a long tradition of ivory carving, going back to at least the twelfth century. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Moscow and the Russian Court were important centres of artistic patronage, which included commissioning works in ivory. The few Russian ivories in the V&A collection are dominated by those from Cholmogory, near Archangel, in North East Russia. Here a tradition of making decorative objects in walrus ivory, such as caskets and jewellery, grew up in the nineteenth century.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- tusk (walrus ivory), ebony
- Dimensions
- Height 6.5 cm; Width 12.7 cm; Depth 10.2 cm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Ebony and walrus ivory. with brass hinges.
- Place recorded
- Russia
Identification
- Museum object name
- Box
- Museum object number
- 450-1895
- Museum system number
- O184728
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type, maker and catalogue references against a specialist reference.