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| Item: |
127 Tortoiseshell casket |
| Origin: |
Indo-Portuguese, 17th century |
| Dimensions |
Height: 17cm, width: 21cm, depth: 11cm |
| Timeline: |
17th century |
| Description: |
Tortoiseshell and silver
Traditionally, ‘tortoiseshell’ used in luxury works of art and furniture veneers is derived from the outer layer of the sea turtle’s shell, primarily the giant Green (Chelonia mydas) and Hawksbill (Erectmochelys imbricate) turtles. |
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Caskets made of precious materials such as tortoiseshell, ivory and mother of pearl mounted with gold and silver have been exchanged as luxury gifts and collected in the West and the Orient for centuries. “The gifts presented by Cardinal-King Henry of Portugal (1512 - 80) to the Sultan of Morocco from 1577 to 1580 included ‘a small casket in tortoiseshell, decorated in silver’” (Jaffer 2002, 17).
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