Spice Box on Stand

Gallery 101, American Art, first floor (Kathy and Ted Fernberger Gallery)

Main Building

Spice Box on Stand

1700-1720

Artist/maker unknown, American

Boxes that housed spices and other treasured objects became popular during the eighteenth century. Their use developed out of an earlier tradition of securing small objects---such as fragile porcelains, exotic ivories, gems, unusual shells, and fossils---in highly ornamented cabinets. These reliquaries were prized not only for the spices they safeguarded, but also for the skill required to make them. Owners often prominently displayed their spice boxes on tabletops, pedestals, and chests.

Gallery 101, American Art, first floor (Kathy and Ted Fernberger Gallery)

Object Details

Title:

Spice Box on Stand

Date:

1700-1720

Artist:

Artist/maker unknown, American

Medium:

Mahogany, mahogany veneer, yellow pine; replacement brass

Dimensions:

30 x 18 1/4 x 9 1/2 inches (76.2 x 46.4 x 24.1 cm)

Classification:

Furniture/Furnishings

Credit Line:

Gift of the McNeil Americana Collection, 2011

Accession Number:

2011-91-39

Geography:

Made in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America

Context:

Period: Colonial

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Gallery 101, American Art, first floor (Kathy and Ted Fernberger Gallery)

Main Building

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