A gold snuff box, London, 1761

rectangular, the lid chased with Jason presenting the Golden Fleece to Pelias, King of Iolcus, the sides with intertwined garlands and architectural rocaille, raised scroll thumbpiece, the interior of the lid with mirror, maker's mark J/I or TB, Paris import mark for 1819-1838 and later French 'hibou' control marks

Nice crisp chasing. Hinge has been repaired and is now slightly curved so that lid does not close completely and there is slight denting below. Old mirror is completely occluded.
"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."

From April 1697, the surviving registers of the Goldsmiths' Hall recorded the makers' marks of goldsmiths in two volumes, one for largeworkers and one for small, running concurrently. The volume for smallworkers from 1738 until 1758 has long been missing and since this was a time of high activity for goldworkers and chasers in London, it has caused many problems for the identification of individual makers. Much work has been done under the aegis of David Beasley at the Goldsmiths' 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 present example, I/J /T B in script, crowned. In this case, it is not a lack of suitable candidates that is the problem but more an embarras de richesses since JB, IB or TB are such very common initials and there are few recorded examples of this maker's work. These include another rectangular box chased with the same subject of Jason, but dated 1759 (Sotheby's New York, 15 April 2010, lot 272) and a rectangular box chased with Aeneas consulting the Cumaean Sibyl (Christie's London, 8 December 2011, lot 123).