box BM-Franks.715.+

Period:Qing dynasty Production date:1808 (circa)
Materials:porcelain
Technique:glazed, painted,
Subjects:money/currency
Dimensions:Diameter: 6 centimetres

Description:
‘Famille rose’ box and cover painted after a Spanish coin. Of lobed form, it is decorated in colours of the ‘famille rose’ palette, showing on the cover a portrait of King Charles IV of Spain (r. 1788-1808), crowned with a laurel wreath, surrounded by a curiously transcribed Latin inscription and the date 1808. This enamelled box also copies the reverse of the coin and shows on the underside the Spanish royal arms surrounded by another Latin inscription; the insides of both box and cover show a flower-head.
IMG


Comments:Harrison-Hall and Krahl 1994:The design is copied from a Spanish silver coin of 1808 which is inscribed on the portrait side ‘CAROLUS IIII DEI GRATIA 1808’ (Charles IV, by God’s grace, 1808), and on the armorial side ‘CHISPAN ET IND REX’ (King of Spain and the Indies) as well as the abbreviated denomination, “8 reales’, and the mintmaster’s initials. This enamelled box closely copies both front and reverse of the coin: see, for an example, BM 1906.1105.271. See also BM 1947.0719.8.