A gold-mounted bloodstone snuff box, probably English, circa 1760

‘The Chaser is another Branch of the Goldsmith’s Business; which is, the raising of these Figures upon the Cases of Watches, Tweezers, and other Toys, which are not caste, but chased or imbossed. The cast Figures rise sharp and bold, but the chased, even of the best kind, appear flat and lifeless (…)’

This description of the chaser’s technique by R. Campbell appeared in the London Tradesman in 1747, and given the very lively and high-relief nature of English chasing in the 18^th century, as to be seen on this box, it seems likely that ‘cast’ and ‘chased’ have in fact been transposed mistakenly here, as Richard Edgcumbe suggested (Richard Edgcumbe, The Art of the Chaser, Oxford, 2000, p. 10). 18^th century chasing in England was extremely advanced, and chasers such as George Michael Moser achieved incredible, almost sculptural effects in gold (see for example Kenneth Snowman, Eighteenth Century Gold Boxes of Europe, London, 1990, plate 570, 571, p. 279). The agate, quartz or bloodstone panels were, however, often supplied by workshops in Italy, making a distinct attribution to one centre of manufacture slightly difficult, especially when considering the exchange and proliferation of ideas and techniques through extensive travel of craftmen at the time. Bloodstone, or heliotrope, by its scientific name, was also mined in Scotland, which might explain its occurence in English boxes, other than the aesthetically pleasing result of combining the dark green stone with red hematite inclusions with the warm colour of 22 carat gold, which was the gold standard by law in London until 1798.