A silver-gilt and Roman micromosaic snuff box, Charles Rawlings & William Summers, London, 1846

rectangular, the lid inset with a micromosaic panel inlaid with 'Tawny' lying in the Roman countryside and gazing upward with heart-melting eyes, the sides and base very finely engraved with strapwork and fruit on a reeded ground

Micromosaic excellent as is box apart from very small dent on back lid rim near corner.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The spaniel, ‘Tawny’, has recently been identified as having belonged to William, 6^th Duke of Devonshire, who visited Rome in 1819 and commissioned a portrait of the dog from Johann Wenzel Peter, now belonging to the Trustees of the Chatsworth Trust (Haydn Williams, Micromosaics, Snuff Boxes from a Private Collection, privately printed, 1912, p. 41). As with many of Peter’s animal paintings the subject was copied by the Roman micromosaicists and in particular Antonio Aguatti. It was evidently popular with the English as a signed example by Aguatti, set in the lid of a silver-gilt snuff box, Nathaniel Mills, Birmingham, 1828, was sold Sotheby’s London, 1 November 1990, lot 34 and an unsigned example on a purpurine snuff box, formerly in the collection of the second Duke of Buckingham (Stowe sale, 1848, lot 439), was sold Christie’s New York, 22 October 1989, lot 403.

The engraving on the box can be compared with that on another Rawlings & Summers box of 1836/7 illustrated by John Culme, Nineteenth Century Silver, Woodbridge, 1977, p. 144. The author now suggests that the engraving might be from the hand of G. Berry of 130 Long Acre, an engraver whose trade card is to be found in the collections of the British Museum (Heal 59.15).