"Arte Povera" wig box
Applied Arts
Inventory number
2018.5.18.2.AA.BX.C1750.FRDescription
Finely decorated with pink roses, leaves and the scene of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven, this rare and unique wig box belongs to a category of objects and furniture traditionally catalogued by means of the term arte povera.Arte povera, basically an equivalent variation of lacca povera (poor man’s lacquer), refers to a well-known decorative technique introduced in Venice, Italy during the 18th century, whereby sheets of engravings were coloured, cut-out and pasted onto furniture or objects and then covered with multiple coats of a varnish called sandracca (a natural resin) or glue in order to produce a high-gloss finish very similar to a ‘lacquer’.
This Venetian technique – which became immediately fashionable and was therefore readily appreciated and imitated in different Italian contexts as well as in many parts of Europe – was initially used to decorate only works in wood, but later also applied to cardboard, glass and metal artifacts. This technique is also known by its french term découpage.
Materials
CardboardPaper
Origin
circa 1750 FranceDimensions
Width : 17.5 cmLength : 24.5 cm
Height : 12 cm