Property from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
A Gold and Mother-of-Pearl Snuff Box, English, Circa 1730
Auction Closed
June 17, 06:12 PM GMT
Estimate
6,000 - 8,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
oval, the mother of pearl lid engraved with a crowned coat of arms in a scrolling frame, the background engraved with quatrefoils and outer scrollwork and rocaille borders, slightly protruding gold thumbpiece and polished gold sides, the base with a plain mother-of-pearl panel, apparently unmarked,
3 ⅝ in., 9.2 cm length
The Estate of Ailsa Mellon Bruce
The arms are those of Duncombe impaling Verney for Anthony Duncombe, 1st Baron Feversham (1695–1763) and his wife Margaret, daughter of George Verney, 12th Baron Willoughby de Broke. Duncombe inherited a large fortune from his uncle Sir Charles Duncombe in 1721, the same year that he became Member of Parliament for Salisbury. He vacated this seat when he was raised to the peerage in 1747 as Lord Feversham, Baron of Downton, in the County of Wilts.
The contrast in quality between the engraving on the shield of the coat-of-arms and that of the crest, coronet and surround suggests they were done at different dates. It is possible that box was originally carved with Duncombe’s personal arms and later re-engraved with his marital arms.