AN IMPORTANT JAMES I SILVER SHELL-SHAPED SPICE OR SUGAR BOX

LONDON, 1610, MAKER'S MARK TI STAR BELOW (JACKSON, REV. ED., P. 107 LINE 20)

Details

AN IMPORTANT JAMES I SILVER SHELL-SHAPED SPICE OR SUGAR BOX
London, 1610, Maker's mark TI star below (Jackson, rev. ed., p. 107 line 20)
Of scallop-shell form with die-stamped tongue borders on four scallop-shell feet, the hinged cover chased with wave design, marked inside base and on cover
5 in. (13.33 cm.) long; 7 oz. 10 dwt. (241 gr.)

Provenance

Christie's, April 26, 1899, lot 67
Sydney Loder, Esq.
Christie's, London, August 13, 1941, lot 68
S.J. Shrubsole

Literature

Queen Charlotte's Loan Exhibition of Old Silver, London, 1929, no. 123

Lot Essay

Sugar and exotic spices were expensive imports which had expressed wealth and status since the late middle ages. The precious spices were kept in an equally luxurious container. About 20 shell-form sugar boxes dating from the late 1500s to the early 1600s are known. The boxes are divided into two compartments in the interior, possibly with a small spoon originally fitting into the smaller compartment. (See Philippa Glanville, Silver in Tudor and Early Stuart England, 1990, pp. 366-367, fig. 219.)

A virtually identical shell-shaped box by the same maker, also 1610, from the collection of the 5th Earl of Rosebery was sold from Mentmore, Sotheby's, May 18, 1977, lot 1714.