Marcel Duchamp ~ Boite-en-valise (the red box), series F, 1960/a video and another view

PAM's Boite -en-valise, Expanded View
Marcel Duchamp's Boite-en-valise seems quite full. And it turns out from this image of the Portland Art Museum's Boite (shown to the left and above) there's even more in that box. The National Museum of Scotland owns one of the "original" valise versions bound in leather. Here is what their web site says about Marcel's creation. All of them are said to be substantially the same ...

This leather case contains sixty-nine miniature reproductions of Duchamp's works. This is number two of twenty-four de-luxe versions of the case. Each of these features a different, hand-coloured 'original' fixed to the inside of the lid. The box 'unpacks' in such a way that some sections slide out, with other folders and black-mounted prints inside. For Duchamp there was no clear distinction between the original and the reproduction, a concept cleverly embodied in this piece. The case is also reminiscent of a travelling salesman's display case, containing a selection of Duchamp's pre-1935 work like a portable museum, made for his move to New York in 1942.

And here's a link to the Smarthistory Duchamp video made here at the Portland Art Museum. You'll hear Chief Curator Bruce Guenther and Smarthistory's Dr. Beth Harris discuss Duchamp and his work. Click here - it's about four minutes long.