Casket or Small Cabinet
Arts of the Americas
Fabricated from local tortoiseshell, these exceptional objects were produced to serve as mementos or souvenirs of time spent in Jamaica by wealthy landowners. The tortoiseshell is embellished with engraved floral motifs derived from contemporary European prints or textiles. The small cabinet is further decorated with small silver drawer pulls cast in the shape of busts of enslaved Africans. Intended for European consumption, these objects also serve as a reminder that their owners’ wealth was the result of enslaved labor.
MEDIUM
Tortoise shell, silver
DATES
1677
DIMENSIONS
Closed: 6 7/8 x 10 1/8 x 6 1/4 in. (17.5 x 25.7 x 15.9 cm)
Front doors open to maximum: 6 7/8 x 17 3/4 x 8 7/8 in. (17.5 x 45.1 x 22.5 cm)
Front doors open to slight angle: 6 7/8 x 14 x 10 in. (17.5 x 35.6 x 25.4 cm)
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
47.116.1
CREDIT LINE
Carll H. de Silver Fund
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Casket or Small Cabinet, 1677. Tortoise shell, silver, Closed: 6 7/8 x 10 1/8 x 6 1/4 in. (17.5 x 25.7 x 15.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Carll H. de Silver Fund, 47.116.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 47.116.1_PS6.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 47.116.1_PS6.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2012
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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