Casket or Small Cabinet

Fabricated from local tortoiseshell, these exceptional objects were produced to serve as mementos or souvenirs of time spent in Jamaica by wealthy landowners. The tortoiseshell is embellished with engraved floral motifs derived from contemporary European prints or textiles. The small cabinet is further decorated with small silver drawer pulls cast in the shape of busts of enslaved Africans. Intended for European consumption, these objects also serve as a reminder that their owners’ wealth was the result of enslaved labor.