MATERIAL MATTERS Tortoiseshell
Meet the Collector
ROSE PHILLIPS
Rose Phillips has collected sewing boxes in tortoiseshell and other materials since she was a child
Material Matters:
TORTOISESHELL
Beautifully marbled and rich in tone, tortoiseshell has been favoured for decorative objects for centuries. But where should today’s collectors start and what are the ethical issues?
TOP 17th-century Dutch ebony cabinet inlaid with tortoiseshell and ivory in the Long Gallery at Chirk Castle, Wrexham. ABOVE French serpentine Boulle perfume box c1840, £995, Mark Goodger Antiques.
With its attractive marbling and warm translucency, tortoiseshell has been a popular material for jewellery and household objects for thousands of years. The fact that, under heat, it becomes easily malleable into fluid shapes has only added to its desirability. But what exactly is tortoiseshell? The material comes from the carapace – the hard upper shell – of one of the marine turtle species, and almost always from the (now critically endangered) hawksbill turtle. Its usage goes back at least as far as the Ancient Greeks, who often used an entire tortoise or turtle shell to create the back of their stringed instrument, the chelys or lyre. Elsewhere, the Romans imported tortoiseshell from Egypt, to use as a
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veneer for furniture – especially those elegant couches along which Romans liked to disport themselves – and small household objects. Later, in 17th-century France, tortoiseshell work became a highly specialised art form, seen on furniture, mirrors, jewel cases, trays, snuffboxes and other decorative items. The leader in the field was André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732), who used tortoiseshell as a background to ornate brasswork, producing a more striking effect than any wood could achieve. The craft spread quickly across Europe. TOP & LEFT Rare harlequin tea caddy c1790, £35,000; miniature tortoiseshell and sterling silver clock by William Comyns 1913 (sold), both Mark Goodger Antiques.
Matthew Lock; The National Trust Photolibrary / Alamy Stock Photo
FE AT U R E S TE VE WRI G H T
In Britain, Gerrit Jensen (active 1680-1715) adopted Boulle’s techniques, combining tortoiseshell and metal to produce elaborate marquetry. Jensen was cabinetmaker by appointment to William and Mary and, subsequently, Queen Anne. Today, the Royal Collection Trust has over 600 pieces in tortoiseshell. This growth in popularity ran alongside the fashion for turtle soup during the 18th century, introduced through Britain’s trading links with the West Indies. Craftsmen would boil the shell, which would turn to gelatine. This could then be moulded into any shape, which it would then
retain. Creating objects in tortoiseshell was thus relatively simple: producing veneers was more time-consuming, as it required the shell to be thinned, then glued to the surfaces of wooden objects or furniture. Different tortoiseshell colours, meanwhile, were produced by the addition of various pigments – most commonly yellow and, more rarely, red and green. Fast forward to the 1960s, and awareness was growing that the hawksbill and other species of marine turtles were rapidly becoming endangered, due to the global market for their meat, shells and eggs. Trading in genuine tortoiseshell was banned worldwide in 1973 under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). ‘Current legislation states that objects created before 3rd March 1947 using worked tortoiseshell can be
‘As a girl, I used to stay with my grandmother and, in my bedroom, there was a workbox made from sadeli [small repeating geometric patterns], which fascinated me. When the estate was broken up in the 1970s, I was given the box as I had always loved it. My husband and I then moved up to Manchester and – partly because there were one or two things missing from the box – I started going round the antiques fairs and realised that I could pick up things to go into this box. My love of antiques snowballed from there.’ Rose has been collecting boxes, largely from Mark Goodger Antiques, ever since. ‘Mark has the most beautiful boxes, and he always says that I have one of the largest collections he has ever seen. I collect tortoiseshell boxes in all different styles and colours – brown, red, green, pressed tortoiseshell... I also pick up other things to go in the boxes – bodkin cases, needle cases, etui sets with inlaid gold and so forth.’ Rose’s favourite pieces include an elaborate Regency ribbed tortoiseshell box, inlaid and engraved all round with silver trailing leaves and fine silver wire (left). The box formerly belonged to the actor Leslie Phillips, known for the Carry On movies, and more recently as the voice of the Sorting Hat in Harry Potter. And what draws Rose to tortoiseshell? ‘I think it’s the wonderful variety, really – red, green, yellow – and the effects you get from light passing through it!’
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