Tobacco box
The box is oval; its lid depicts an amorous couple stretched out on a bed. A second woman peeks around one of the curtains. Inscribed below: Klaes nemt de borst van Trientie in de hant terwijl hij groen in’t heart na’t ander wat tertant (Klaes takes Trientie’s breast in his hand, while with desiring heart heart he longs for the other).
The underside shows another indoor scene framed by brick walls. A couple is smoking, the woman seated on the man’s knees, while another woman looks on from behind the curtains. Inscribed below: Moegt ick lieve meijt u lippen eens genaken wij souden allebij in het paradeijs geraken (Dear girl, could I touch your lips, both of us would be in paradise).
With lined rims and molded edges, the borders and sides engraved with leaf scrolls.
The underside shows another indoor scene framed by brick walls. A couple is smoking, the woman seated on the man’s knees, while another woman looks on from behind the curtains. Inscribed below: Moegt ick lieve meijt u lippen eens genaken wij souden allebij in het paradeijs geraken (Dear girl, could I touch your lips, both of us would be in paradise).
With lined rims and molded edges, the borders and sides engraved with leaf scrolls.
Artwork Details
- Title: Tobacco box
- Date: 18th century
- Culture: Dutch
- Medium: Brass
- Dimensions: 1 7/16 x 5 1/2 x 3 in. (3.7 x 14.0 x 7.6 cm)
- Classification: Metalwork-Brass
- Credit Line: Gift of C. Gustave Mourraille, in memory of his sister, Miss M. Mathilde Mourraille, 1957
- Object Number: 57.108.9
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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Johann Heinrich Giese
ca. 1760–65
Dutch
18th century
Dutch
18th century
probably Netherlandish
early 17th century
Jan Jansen Bockeltz
ca. 1605–10
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