Thursday 24 June 2010

Battle of Waterloo Box in New Silver Exhibition

This summer's selling exhibition at The London Silver Vaults, Chancery Lane, London WC2, is a wonderful opportunity for novice collectors and specialists alike to acquire small but covetable antique and C20th silver items at prices from around £100up to £10,000.

A major highlight of the exhibition is a rare collector’s item and piece of military history: a silver gilt cigar box, understood to have been a presentation gift made in 1855 to surviving officers who fought at the Battle of Waterloo. Made by John Harris of London, the Latin motto on the front reads 'I favour the brave'. On the reverse is engraved the standard of the 1st Royal Dragoons cavalry regiment, an eagle and the word, Waterloo. The cigar box is offered for sale by M. Sedler and is priced at £2500.

Other interesting silver boxes include:

- a Queen Anne commemorative patch box, probably a memento of her coronation, made by Thomas Kedder, dated circa 1702, priced at £695. (Linden & Co)
- a charming Victorian silver nutmeg holder with grater, in the form of a nutmeg, inscribed "D C P Christmas 1882" (42mm long, weight 21.8gm) Hilliard & Thomason of Birmingham, £1495. (Gideon Cohen)
- a pair of sterling silver table card boxes with a cat and dog modelled on lids, and box base to hold calling cards (lid hinged to side), 1907 by Berthold Müller, £3500. (Bryan Douglas)
- an exquisitely carved Chinese tortoiseshell box of the late C19th. (S&J Stodel)
- a rare antique silver jewellery box in the form of a grand piano, a hidden velvet-lined drawer pops open when you depress the piano pedals! London, 1905, £2785. (Silstar Antiques Ltd)

Boxing Clever runs until the end September 2010

See the Boxing Clever picture gallery and catalogue at www.thesilvervaults.com

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