Medium square box 1887 - 1911

Curator: Well, hello there! What strikes you first about this little treasure, this "Medium Square Box" by André Aucoc, crafted sometime between 1887 and 1911? Editor: It's remarkably opulent! The creamy, shimmering panels are such a striking contrast against the intricately worked silver. There's a quiet richness to it, like a secret whispered in a grand ballroom. Curator: "Opulent" is a brilliant word for it. Aucoc, primarily known as a jeweller, created this stunning piece employing both silver and mother-of-pearl. Its form hints at functional boxes used to keep valuable things—powder, jewellery or love letters! Editor: Indeed. It speaks to an era obsessed with ornamentation, doesn’t it? The details are relentless, but balanced. How do you think the decorative-art aesthetic shaped pieces like this, practically speaking? Curator: These objects offered both visual pleasure and acted as signifiers of wealth. Pieces like this allowed owners to demonstrate their exquisite taste. Art Nouveau, especially, blurred the line between pure art and the everyday object, democratizing beauty, in a way. Editor: You’re so right, even though luxury objects like this can only reach a narrow segment of society! I find the mother-of-pearl panels intriguing. There’s something ethereal, almost otherworldly, about them. Were these boxes purely decorative or truly functional, used as status displays in parlors or boudoirs? Curator: It's a chicken and egg question, isn't it? Ultimately, the beauty of an object enhances its inherent worth, creating that perception of value, both monetary and social, isn't it? These little time capsules whisper to us today of values and class anxieties of yesterday! Editor: Absolutely! A curious convergence of aesthetics and cultural posturing. Thank you for unraveling this small but infinitely evocative marvel. Curator: My pleasure! Art, at its finest, provides little portals into understanding, so that our gaze, though passing, might yet illuminate hidden corners.