Artist/Maker

Reeves, Th & Son

Place Made

Date Made

1784-1816

Medium

wood (box)

Dimensions

LOA 9; WOA 5; HOA 3/4 (Box)

Accession Number

609.4

Description

Wooden box divided lengthwise into four compartments; the first three contain cakes of pigments, very little used but somewhat broken. The colors (according to the paper labels on dividers) are: Prus. Blue; Lake; Sap Green; Lt. Red; Bestre; Lt.Blue; Rw. Sienna; Vermillion; Green Bice; Yellow Oker; Bt. Umber; Indigo; Orange; Red Chalk; Prus. Green; F. White; Black. On the back of each cake is embossed: “Reeves & Woodyer Original inventors of superfine colours & manufacturers to Her Majesty”.

The last compartment (probably for brushes) contains six strips of paper on which brushes have evidently been wiped. Printed paper label pasted in box reads: “Society for the encouragement of arts, Manufacture & Commerce. Adelphi, May 17, 1781./ Gentlemen I am desired by the Society to return you their thanks for the delighting present you have been/ pleased to make them of a Box of colours prepared by you for the use of Painters in water colours. So an Art so well/ adapted to the purpose of forwarding that elegant branch of polite arts could not fail of/ being acceptable to the Society./ Thos Reeves & Son Colour Manufacturers to Her Majesty and N 80 Holborn Bridge His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales/ I am Gentlemen/ your most obedient humble servant/ Sam Moore secretary.”

Although this box of colors was made before Elias Vogler was born, he probably worked with a similar set of watercolors.