Box

The rectangular marquetry box has canted corners and a slightly domed lid with a flat top. It is made of walnut veneered primarily with tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, and engraved ivory. The exterior ornamentation includes, at the sides, shells flanked by scrolls framing dense floral clusters; and, on the lid, matching shells and scrolls along the edges with a large oval trelliswork medallion within broad radiating petals at the center. The lid is fitted with a gilt-bronze handle and knop and is secured to the base with brass hinges and a lock with keyhole at the front of the box. The interior was altered in Paris around 1780 and is fitted with tulipwood set with silver-mounted rosewood compartments that include an inkwell. Such an elaborately ornamented and locked box was an object of extreme luxury and would have been used to house equally precious items such as documents or letters, or even further containers made of valuable materials such as lacquer or porcelain.