Box (one of a pair) (part of a set) 1766 - 1767

This is a gilded silver box, one of a pair, made by John Parker sometime before his death in 1777. Parker was a London silversmith, working at a time when English society was deeply stratified by class and access to luxury goods like this box reflected one’s social standing. Considered within the framework of eighteenth-century life, this box speaks to the opulence enjoyed by the elite, and the labor practices that made such luxury possible. Silver items were often made by skilled artisans, yet the source of the raw materials frequently involved exploitative labor, including enslaved people in silver mines in South America. The box itself, beyond its monetary value, might have held personal items: letters, jewelry, or small keepsakes, holding the silent stories of its owners. It prompts us to reflect on the complex relationship between beauty, wealth, and the human cost of creation.