Maker: Unknown
Boiled leather case for holding instruments with five internal compartments; decorated with stamped and engraved borders
Boiled, stamped and engraved leather (cuir bouilli) case, with five internal compartments. The pull-off lid and slightly fluted tapering body have two suspension loops on each side, through which a cord would have been threaded. The case is decorated with borders of scrolling foliage on a matted ground.
Given by W.E Miller, Esq.
Height: 4.2 cm
Length: 17.0 cm
Width: 5.5 cm
Method of acquisition: Given (1929-10-31) by Miller, W. E.
16th Century, Mid-17th Century#
1550
-
1650
Interior
composed of
wood?
Surface
composed of
leather
Cuir bouilli : There is much conjecture on how 'boiled leather' or 'cuir bouilli' was made and whether the leather was boiled in water. The most popular theory is the one suggested in 'La Grande Encyclopedie (Paris 1887-1905) in which: 'pieces of leather must be boiled in wax mixed with resin and glue. Once boiled in this manner, the leather preserves, whilst it is moist, sufficient pliability to enable it to be moulded, and when it is dry it possess a hardness and rigidity nearly equal to that of wood to which it is preferable by reason of its lightness.' The stamped and engraved decoration would have been added before the leather was dried.
Accession number: M.37 & A-1929
Primary reference Number: 150668
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Instrument case" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/150668 Accessed: 2024-11-06 00:01:43
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/150668
|title=Instrument case
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-06 00:01:43|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-150668
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