Collection Online as of May 25, 2022

Box

1771

fabricated by

Thomas Heming

(British, 1722/23-1801)

England, London, 18th century

Silver gilt

Overall: 12.4 x 18 x 14.4 cm (4 7/8 x 7 1/16 x 5 11/16 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1976.17

Location

203A British Painting and Decorative Arts

Fun Fact

This small box likely held jewelry and may have been accompanied by a mirror, scent bottles, brushes, combs, candlesticks, and small covered bowls on a wealthy woman’s dressing table.

Description

Produced by King George III’s principal goldsmith, Thomas Heming, this silver gilt box closely resembles those he produced for the Queen of Denmark and the ladies of the British court in the 1760s. Adorning the hinged lid is an unidentified scene along with four scallop shells and acanthus leaves. Similarly, the curvilinear sides are ornamented with an array of swirling flora and serpentine lines.

Provenance

1976

(Spink & Son Ltd, London, 1976, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1976-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Lee, Sherman E. "The Year in Review for 1976." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 64, no. 2 (February 1977): 39-78. Mentioned: p. 40; reproduced: p. 47 www.jstor.org

Exhibition history

No legacy exhibitions.

Year in Review, 1976. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 1-March 6, 1977).

British Gallery Reinstallation (June 2020). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).