Tobacco box

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The box is rectangular. Its lid is engraved with a portrait bust of Prince William IV (1711–51) accompanied by his coat of arms. Inscribed below is: Karel henderik friso prins van oranje stathouder kaptijn geeneraal van de provins gelderlant vrieslant stat en landen en het lantschap drentte Ao 1722-6 sep. (Carl Henry Friso, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder Captain General of the province Gelderland, Friesland, City and Country [the former name of the province Groningen] and the county Drenthe; Anno I722-Sept. 6). Interestingly enough, his first name, William, is not given in this inscription. A portrait bust of Princess Anne (1709–59), with her coat of arms below, appears on the underside. It is inscribed: Anna van bronswijk linnenburgh kroon prinsesse van groot bretanje etc etc Ao '709 Nov (Anne of Braunschweig Linnenburgh, Crown Princess of Great Britain etc. etc. Anno 1709 Nov.). Princess Anne, the daughter of King George II, was born on November 2, 1709. William IV and Anne were married in 1734. See the additional discussion of this box in the text, above. The rims are lined, the edges molded. The sides are plain. A similar box is discussed and illustrated in "Queries and Opinions," Antiques 30 (1936) pp. 134-135.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art