A gold snuff box, England, 1760
Auction Closed
October 14, 05:38 PM GMT
Estimate
6,000 - 8,000 EUR
Lot Details
Description
A gold snuff box, England, 1760
the lid boldly chased with Aeneas consulting the Cumaean Sibyl, within rocaille scrollwork in high relief, the waisted sides chased with roses and architectural elements within scrolls and leafy bands, the base chased with a musician and a parrot perched on a classical pedestal, the protruding thumbpiece centred with a scroll, maker's mark J.B. surmounted by a crown
weight: 73.4 g
length 2 5⁄16 in.; 5,9 cm.
weight 70g
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Tabatière en or, Angleterre, 1760
rectangulaire, le couvercle ciselé orné d'Énée et de la sibylle de Cumes, les côtés ciselés de roses et d'éléments architecturaux, la base ciselée d'un musicien et d'un perroquet, l'appui-pouce centré d'une volute, poinçon d'orfèvre J.B. surmonté d'une couronne
weight: 73.4 g
length 2 5⁄16 in.; 5,9 cm.
weight 70g
Christie's London, 8 December 2011, lot 123.
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Christie's Londres, 8 décembre 2011, lot 123.
From April 1697, the surviving registers of the Goldsmiths' Hall recorded the maker's mark of goldsmiths in two volumes, one for largeworkers and one for smallworkers, running concurrently. The volume for smallworkers from 1738 until 1758 has long been missing, which has caused many problems for the identification of indivdual makers. Much work has been done under the aegis of David Beasley at the Goldsmith's Hall to fill in the gaps (see John Culme, 'Trade of fancy', The Silver Society Journal, autumn 2000, p. 98) but certain marks still remain unidentified, such as the one on the present lot, mostly due to the high number of suitable candidates.
JB, IB or TB are very common initials and there are a few recorded examples of this maker's work. These include another rectangular box chased with Jason presenting the Golden Fleece to Pelias, dated 1759 (Sotheby's New York, 15 April 2010, lot 272), a gold box chased with the same subject, but dated 1761, sold Replica Shoes 's London, 3 July 2012, lot 169, and a gold-mounted bloodstone etui with chased scrollwork mounts, sold Replica Shoes 's London, 25 May 2022, lot 43. But this maker seems to not have worked exclusively in chased gold, as a gold and basse-taille enamel snuff box (sold Christies, 3 June 2014, lot 242) demonstrates.