Close-up and Personal: Eighteenth Century Gold Boxes from the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection

Fashionable among both men and women, these exquisite and elegant containers were one of the most popular accessories in eighteenth-century Europe.

They were often used to hold snuff (a scented preparation of powdered tobacco) or sweetmeats. The most lavish and precious boxes were the choice present of royalty and exemplify court culture and fashion in miniature.

Gold boxes combine the best design and making of the period and were carefully chased and cast in precious metal, encrusted with jewels, painted with the finest enamel and set with exotic materials. Paris remained the most important centre and set the taste that makers elsewhere aspired to emulate. Best admired close-up, their intricate decorations also reflect changes in society and constantly followed new styles and fashions. The appeal of these petite masterpieces outlasted the fashion of taking snuff, and prompted twentieth-century writer and art critic Sacheverell Sitwell to state they are "among some of the most fascinating and beautiful objects ever made by human hands". One of the finest collections of gold boxes today was assembled by Sir Arthur Gilbert (1913-2001) and his first wife, Rosalinde (1913-1995). With a background in fashion as London couturiers in the 1930s and 1940s the Gilberts had a passion for beauty created through excellent craftsmanship and design that is represented at its best in this collection.

Presented here is a selection of nearly sixty boxes from their collection, including four iconic diamond-set boxes associated with Frederick the Great, King of Prussia (1712-1786), boxes owned by Catherine the Great and other masterpieces from France, Germany, England, Russia and Italy. These masterpieces, thanks to their exquisite details and sometimes surprising forms, are a tribute to the extraordinary craftsmanship of those who made them, and tell us stories of war and peace, love and friendship.