Box 1790 - 1840

Curator: Editor: So, here we have an anonymous, carved wooden "Box" created sometime between 1790 and 1840. It’s giving me a real sense of… tactile history, I guess? The texture practically screams hand-made. What can you tell me about it? Curator: Looking at this box, I'm immediately drawn to the labour involved in its creation. Consider the carving. How long did it take to incise each of those tiny, repeated diamond shapes? What kind of tools were available to the maker? The standardization we often see in art objects was certainly not within the reach of many. Editor: That makes sense. It feels so personal. It's quite roughhewn and obviously made with great effort. It definitely bridges that gap between decorative object and something… functional, handmade and essential. What purpose might it have served back then? Curator: Its very construction points to something. It speaks to me of class. Someone spent many, many hours creating something to serve a utilitarian function. Its inherent value resided, for its original owner, less in art and more in practical application. Now its been placed in a museum, but what does it mean about its makers life? Was it something for their family, a saleable good? What’s inside? Editor: Interesting! I never thought about the tension of moving something from use to art. Thanks. Curator: My pleasure. It's fascinating how an object so simple can reveal such complex social dynamics.