Humidor

Makerattributed to Edward F. Caldwell & Company (1895 - 1959)

Datecirca 1917

Mediumwood, gilt-brass, velvet, tin

DimensionsOverall: 2 9/16 × 15 1/8 × 8 7/8 in. (6.5 × 38.4 × 22.5 cm)

Credit LineReynolda Estate

CopyrightPublic Domain

Object number1922.2.52

DescriptionThe rectangular box with hinged cover is covered in red velvet. Pierced and gilded brass plates cover the top and four sides with a gilt-brass guilloche band around the outside edge of the cover. The interior is lined with tin over green velvet, the inside of the cover having a recessed rectangular area that would have held the humidifying device (now absent, but would have been a sponge or heavy blotter paper that could be dampened).

The piercing and chasing of designs on the decorative gilt-brass plate on the top includes simulated coats of arms (containing spread eagles, rampant lions, and goats) displayed on a background of Renaissance-style scrolls. The scrolls continue on the side panels enclosing pseudo-heraldic devices, including shields and Tudor roses.
ProvenanceFrom 1964
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, acquired in 1964. [1]

Notes:
[1] In the early 1960s Charles H. Babcock (1899-1967) gave the house and its contents to the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation. The house was then incorporated as a museum and collection (Reynolda House, Inc.) on December 18, 1964 with the signing of the charter at its first board meeting. The museum first opened to the public in September 1965.

Status

On view