Room 72: Boxes and Micromosaics

There are over 200 gold boxes in the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection, most of which were made as containers for snuff, a form of powdered and scented tobacco which was fashionable throughout 18th-century Europe. Included in the Collection are boxes made in Paris, Berlin, London, Dresden and Vienna, often for kings and emperors including Louis XV and Napoleon. The highlights of this collection are the brilliantly jewelled boxes made for Frederick the Great of Prussia, which are richly worked designs of gold, diamonds and hardstones.

The collection of micromosaics is one of the world's most comprehensive, second only to those of the Vatican Museum, Rome, and the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. Sir Arthur's collection also contains hardstone mosaics, also known as pietre dure, where the finished effect is achieved by the careful combination of semi-precious stones to create a harmonious whole.

Room 72 is on Level 3 of the V&A South Kensington.

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