A set of twelve Elizabethan sycamore roundels late 16th/early 17th century

contained within a turned beechwood box, each roundel centred by a verse within a gilded, scrolled and flower decorated border, the box containing traces of red paint decoration and with the initials IK to the base, with a paper label to the base of the box, in manuscript ` Set of 12 Beechen Roundells Mrs Braithwaite'  

The W.J.Shepherd Collection of Treen, Sotheby's London, 30 November 1983, lot 770.

It is believed that roundels of this type were used as a form of entertainment in that they were placed before each guest at the end of a banquet with the plain side upwards and were used for cheese or confections. After Grace the roundels were then reversed and each verse sung or recited by the guests in turn as roundelays to the accompaniment of a lute.  

A similar example can be seen illustrated in Edward H. Pinto, Treen or Small Woodware Throughout the Ages, 1949 Edition, pl. 5. Other examples can be seen in : Owen Evan Thomas, Domestic Utensils of Wood XVI to XIXth Century, EP Publishing Ltd., 1976, pp. 63-67, pls.24 & 25.  Jonathan Levi, Treen for the Table, Antique Collector`s Club, 1998, pp.132-137, pls. 10/1-10/8.