Work box
Maker & role
Ray Gurney, Maker
Production date
1998
See full details
Object detail
Title
Reproduction Vizigapatam-ware work box
Production place
Collection
Measurements
0 - Whole, H: 17 x W: 18 x D: 12cm (H: 170 x W: 180 x D: 120mm)
Credit line
Commission, with assistance of Friends of Elizabeth Farm, 1996
Elizabeth Farm Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Elizabeth Farm Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Caption
Modern reproduction of original Vizigapatam-ware workbox.
Description
Imitation ivory workbox, constructed in polymers and resin, with lifting lid. Internal layout features walled compartments, 2 being lidded with small circular handles. Central front compartment has horizontal cotton spindle. One reproduction porcelain thimble is seated in one of two openings. A red velvet pin cushion has 5 anonymous pins/needles. The workbox has a slightly expressed escutcheon at the front that connects to a brass lock which receives catch on underside of lid. No key. A protective layer of green velvet is attached directly to underside of base.
The ivory original of this reproduction workbox - which includes internal compartments, velvet pincushion and thimble - is said to have belonged to Elizabeth Macarthur (1840 – 1911; the grand-daughter of John and Elizabeth Macarthur, and daughter of their 4th son James Macarthur and his wife Emily nee Stone), though the revised dating of near-identical box in the Victoria & Albert Museum (see Jaffer, 2001, p206) collection suggests a much older provenance, quite possibly to her grandmother the original family matriarch Elizabeth Macarthur.
The original is an example of Vizagapatam ware, a distinctive form of inlaid (typically onto sandalwood) ivory work with incised decoration, which developed in the area around the port of the same name, on the Cormandel Coast between Calcutta (Kolkatta) and Madras on India’s south-west coast. The decoration was applied by incising the ivory, and the coating it with a black lac (lacquer sap), which was then polished back till the filled lines were left contrasting with the white ivory – a variant of the method used to create lacquer ware. Vizagapatam inlay was widely used on boxes (as here) and furniture, as well as a vast array of personal items ranging from fan sticks, combs, and mirror handles to walking sticks and so on. In discussing Vizagapatam ware Jaffer notes that “the very late 18th century [the time the original box was likely made] witnessed a change in the character of the engraved designs, which ceased to exhibit any exotic influence and were increasingly based on ornamental motifs then prevalent tin Europe. …[this was to] inspire in Britain what is now called ‘penwork’, the painting of designs generally defined by white reserves against a darker ground or black lines on a white ground which was at the time known as ‘pen painting’, ‘imitation ivory inlaying’ or ‘inlaying’. Vizagapatam ware was one of many export goods created in India for the European markets – textiles including chintz, along with furniture, ceramics and silverware - and which also found its way to New South Wales. Other items of Indian origin in Elizabeth Farm’s drawing room are cane ‘morhas’ stools, and Kathwari rugs.
This box’s whimsical shape represents a small rustic cottage with a gable roof compete with chimney. Epitomising the ethos “idle hands are the devils playground” workboxes, and their larger counterpart the worktable, were a ubiquitous element in the 19th century domestic interior. They were designed in a bewildering range of sizes, shapes and materials. The original of this box survives in the Macarthur-Onslow Family. Elizabeth Macarthur (b.1840) married Captain Arthur Onslow (1833 – 1882), a union that gave rise to the Macarthur-Onslow line of the family (the hyphenated name was granted by Royal Licence in 1892).
The ivory original of this reproduction workbox - which includes internal compartments, velvet pincushion and thimble - is said to have belonged to Elizabeth Macarthur (1840 – 1911; the grand-daughter of John and Elizabeth Macarthur, and daughter of their 4th son James Macarthur and his wife Emily nee Stone), though the revised dating of near-identical box in the Victoria & Albert Museum (see Jaffer, 2001, p206) collection suggests a much older provenance, quite possibly to her grandmother the original family matriarch Elizabeth Macarthur.
The original is an example of Vizagapatam ware, a distinctive form of inlaid (typically onto sandalwood) ivory work with incised decoration, which developed in the area around the port of the same name, on the Cormandel Coast between Calcutta (Kolkatta) and Madras on India’s south-west coast. The decoration was applied by incising the ivory, and the coating it with a black lac (lacquer sap), which was then polished back till the filled lines were left contrasting with the white ivory – a variant of the method used to create lacquer ware. Vizagapatam inlay was widely used on boxes (as here) and furniture, as well as a vast array of personal items ranging from fan sticks, combs, and mirror handles to walking sticks and so on. In discussing Vizagapatam ware Jaffer notes that “the very late 18th century [the time the original box was likely made] witnessed a change in the character of the engraved designs, which ceased to exhibit any exotic influence and were increasingly based on ornamental motifs then prevalent tin Europe. …[this was to] inspire in Britain what is now called ‘penwork’, the painting of designs generally defined by white reserves against a darker ground or black lines on a white ground which was at the time known as ‘pen painting’, ‘imitation ivory inlaying’ or ‘inlaying’. Vizagapatam ware was one of many export goods created in India for the European markets – textiles including chintz, along with furniture, ceramics and silverware - and which also found its way to New South Wales. Other items of Indian origin in Elizabeth Farm’s drawing room are cane ‘morhas’ stools, and Kathwari rugs.
This box’s whimsical shape represents a small rustic cottage with a gable roof compete with chimney. Epitomising the ethos “idle hands are the devils playground” workboxes, and their larger counterpart the worktable, were a ubiquitous element in the 19th century domestic interior. They were designed in a bewildering range of sizes, shapes and materials. The original of this box survives in the Macarthur-Onslow Family. Elizabeth Macarthur (b.1840) married Captain Arthur Onslow (1833 – 1882), a union that gave rise to the Macarthur-Onslow line of the family (the hyphenated name was granted by Royal Licence in 1892).
Accession number
EFR2000/1
Share
Maker
Object name
Contact Us
Head Office
The Mint, 10 Macquarie St
Sydney, NSW 2000
On Gadigal land
T 02 8239 2288
TTY 02 8239 2377
E info@mhnsw.au
Public comments
Be the first to comment on this object record.