| Author | Subject: Tantalus Box |
| John Bullock | Posted At 11:45:45 05/13/2002
Does anyone know or acan anyone confirm for me if the design on the front and top of the Tantalus box was coloured in any way other than gold/brass. From my research ,the original commercial box, the one in the film was copied from, was made of ebony wood construction, with brass buhl work the 3D image suggest that part of the design was coloured reddish? AS I'm also trying to construct a box I'd be grateful for any info anyone has. regards John B |
| Francois Beaulieu |
Re: Tantalus Box (Currently 0 replies)
Posted At 14:38:57 05/13/2002 The box in the movie was an original Tantalus box not a copy. These were easy to find in antique shops back then. The design itself on the front and top is brass-rimmed wood inlay. The wood may be red mahogany or walnut. The box was not made of ebony, but probably of red mahogany with a black lacquer finish. Most of these boxes, when black, were lacquered black. The borders around the box are not brass but wood also - possibly walnut. |
| Chris Perrotta |
Re: Tantalus Box (Currently 0 replies)
Posted At 15:54:46 05/13/2002 Hi John, The Tantalus in the film, as Francois brought out, was indeed an original French, Boulle style, ebonized, mid to late 1800's era, liquere cave`. Apparently for the wealthy and possibly a one-off, I've never seen two with the exact same inlay designs, let alone another exactly like the one from the film. Having talked with experts regarding the inlay of this box, it is certainly made up of several different types of wood. The reddish color in the central pattern could be tortoise shell. This was commonly used in hi-end pieces of this type and from this era. The ebonizing was lamp black mixed with lacquer and put over the wood. It is not ebony. A close examination of a DVD shot from the film shows a small chip out of the lower left bottom corner and the substrate is not black. This is the type of construction of one of the ones that I have also (a photo of it is here on Don's site somewhere). Someone once told me that the this same Tantalus box appears in a John Wayne film, though I've never seen it. Maybe someone on the site can verify this. Hope this helps. Chris |
| Francois Beaulieu |
Re: Tantalus Box (Currently 0 replies)
Posted At 17:58:24 05/13/2002 Hi Chris, I've examined a number of these boxes close-up. I have seen tortoise shell used in some of these boxes, but usually as a small central decoration. Every box I have examined so far (along with close-up photographs of many others) had most of the motif in a decorative wood rimmed with fine brass wire. The tortoise shell tends to be shinier and, it seems to me, it would show in the close-up on the DVD. But, I admit, it is hard to tell. Harvey Mayo told me about the same box appearing in a John Wayne film, but I think he got the information from somebody else and didn't see it. I haven't seen it myself either. |
| John Bullock |
Re: Tantalus Box (Currently 0 replies)
Posted At 12:31:53 05/14/2002 Many thanks for the information provided to date, quotations to reproduce the actual design here in the UK vary from £600 (about $1000)to over £4000.00 (nearly $6000!!),quite out of the question. My next idea as the box is quite easy to reproduce would be to silk screen a good image on to the top and front of the repro box , does any one have a good clear flat colour photograph or scanned image I could use?? Best Regards, John B |
| Francois Beaulieu |
Re: Tantalus Box (Currently 0 replies)
Posted At 23:08:19 05/20/2002 For the sake of accuracy, I'd like to correct an error I made in my last post. When I mentioned that tortoise shell was used as a small central decoration, I was thinking of red mother-of-pearl. Tortoise shell is usually applied to the entire item. The boxes I have seen with tortoise shell are completely covered with it and this is most of the time combined with brass decorative inlay. However, the point is that the effect is quite different than what we see in the George Pal movie. |
| Francois Beaulieu |
Re: Tantalus Box (Currently 0 replies)
Posted At 17:08:47 05/22/2002 While revising my photo files of Tantalus boxes today, I did come across one example of a box motif that features tortoise shell inlay. The effect and coloration look different than what appears in the movie; but it is really hard to come to any conclusion because the camera never comes close enough to the box for us to see the motif in sharp detail and determine the exact texture of the materials used. |