An Italian parcel-gilt silver and gem-set ebonised wood casket, Wilhelm Widemann, Rome, 1883

Rectangular, raised on four crouching mermaids, the ebonised wood casket applied with silver and silver-gilt panels of masks, grotesques and other motifs, the hinged lid with applied fish scale panels below a reclining nude finial flanked by caryatids, the silk-lined interior with a silver plaque engraved 'W Wildemann - Roma 1883', the whole sitting on a velvet-lined wood base.

The casket 19cm and 7in. wide