Sealing wax case (étui) 1785 - 1786

Editor: Here we have a sealing wax case, an “étui”, created by Georges-Antoine Croze between 1785 and 1786. It’s made of gold and other metals and is currently housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It strikes me as incredibly ornate – almost excessively so! What are your thoughts on this piece? Curator: Well, first off, consider the sheer labor involved in producing something like this. Look at the chasing, the intricate enamel work – this wasn’t something knocked out in a factory. Someone, or more likely a team of artisans, spent a significant amount of time crafting this object. What does that say about its value and its intended audience? Editor: So, you're suggesting its value is tied to the labor that went into it and who would consume it? Curator: Precisely. And it raises questions about social stratification, doesn't it? This wasn’t for the average person. This was commissioned and intended for someone with significant wealth, someone who could afford to essentially flaunt their access to these meticulously crafted goods. Think about the mining of the gold, the refining process. Editor: Right, the resources, the craft, the privilege… So, it’s less about pure aesthetics and more about what it represents in terms of production and consumption during that period? Curator: Exactly. And ask yourself: what *kind* of status does this confer? Was it simply about wealth? Or was it about demonstrating a certain taste, education, or connection to the art world? And even further, whose labor created that elevated status? Editor: It sounds like the object is less about the function and more about what possessing it meant in the late 18th century. I see how you focused on the materials, process, and its socio-economic context. Curator: That’s the core of the materialist view! It's less about saying the design is nice or not. I believe we have to consider the social relations embedded within an object like this.