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Kingwood and brass fully fitted dressing box
The style of the box and the silver are also what we would expect to be commissioned by an aristocratic patroness in the first years of the Victorian era, before the elegance of the Regency gave way to the opulence of the mid 19th century.

The workmanship that created the box is of impeccable quality. The veneer is saw-cut kingwood, a costly timber rarely used for whole boxes, on account of its narrow width. The subtly beautiful figure of the wood is accented discreetly with brass lines, the thicker edge piece featuring an engraved line, which softens the austerity of the brass.

The design incorporates the quiet grace and subtlety characteristic of an age steeped in the quiet dignity of neo classicism.

A piece of paper in the box claims it was owned by Daisy Countess of Warwick who's most significant lover was the Price of Wales later Edward VII.

The gilded silver is of thick gauge. The decoration combines pierced and chased patterns of stylised flora, executed with controlled fluidity, in the best tradition of the time, which accepted the beauty of natural forms but interpreted it through the prism of neo classicism. The gilded silver is hallmarked London 1839 and has the maker's or sponsor's mark for Charles Rawlings and William Summers This form of decoration predates the engraved or repousse decoration found in later dressing boxes.

The surviving crystal containers are superbly and elaborately cut.

Origin: UK ; Circa: 1839-1871; Materials: Kingwood, Brass, cut glass, silver, velvet, and leather .

Size: 36cm wide by 25.8cm by 14.5cm: 14.17 inches wide by 10.16 inches by 5.7 inches.

Condition: good overall; working lock and key; see images and notes.

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All text and images and linked images are © 1999-2011 Antigone Clarke and Joseph O'Kelly. If you require any further information on permitted use, or a licence to republish any material, email us at copyright@hygra.com