Ellis Finch
Head of Knightsbridge Silver Department
Lot 19
A mid-18th Century gold and blue enamel oval box maker's mark 'IIH' beneath a twin-pointed crown surrounded by laurel sprays to the base and cover, a further mark to the rim, possibly a 19th century French import mark, possibly German
21 November 2018, 13:00 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £31,250 inc. premium
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Michael Moorcroft
Consultant
A mid-18th Century gold and blue enamel oval box
maker's mark 'IIH' beneath a twin-pointed crown surrounded by laurel sprays to the base and cover, a further mark to the rim, possibly a 19th century French import mark, possibly German
Oval, the cover with a central spray of flowers in blue bas taille enamel on a rayed ground, surmounted by a floral garland in similar enamel within an engraved shell border, the sides with a blue enamel floral garland on a chevron ground with upper and lower shell borders, the base with similar blue enamel flowers on a rayed ground, length 6.5cm, weight 97gms.
Oval, the cover with a central spray of flowers in blue bas taille enamel on a rayed ground, surmounted by a floral garland in similar enamel within an engraved shell border, the sides with a blue enamel floral garland on a chevron ground with upper and lower shell borders, the base with similar blue enamel flowers on a rayed ground, length 6.5cm, weight 97gms.
Footnotes
Provenance:
A.C.J. Wall collection, Middleton Park, Oxon.
A.C.J. Wall was a Birmingham-based industrialist who started collecting in the 1930s. His was an eclectic taste, ranging across paintings, ceramics, furniture and sculpture. He was well-known as a benefactor to the arts, particularly in Birmingham where he was the mayor, and he was known to have sat for a bust portrait by Jacob Epstein. His collection was sold by Christie's in 1970, many pieces being bought by leading international museums.
The 'IHH' monogram remains one of a number of enigmatic maker's marks that appear on a series of high quality gold boxes that have yet to be identified. The mark appears with the laurel sprays arranged differently around the lettering and crown. For another example, see Serge Grandjean, Les tabatières du musée du Louvre, Paris, 1981, no. 596.
The style of the engraving and the use of blue enamel might suggest London or Stockholm but the informality of the marks suggests Germany. Hanau can probably be discounted as the city of production as Lorenz Seelig has put forward the theory that boxes made in Hanau had marks on the rim similar to Parisian discharge mark (a shell for 18 carat gold and a shell for 19 carat gold); the present lot has neither, see Eighteenth century Hanau gold boxes, silversocietyofcanada.ca, 2015, p.33.
A box with similar marks and impressive later additions and provenance was sold recently at Sotheby's, Treasures, 4th July 2018, lot 90.