CIRCA 1958

Details

A BRITISH GUIANAN JEWEL-SET PAPERKNIFE
CIRCA 1958
The tapering blade with a finial with an openwork galleon, below the diamond-set initial 'M' with a Royal Princess' coronet, engraved with an inscription, marked on the back and stamped 18k
7½ in. (19 cm.) long
The inscription reads 'HER ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCESS MARGARET - BRITISH GUIANA, 1958.'

Provenance

Presented to H.R.H. The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon on the occasion of her visit to British Guiana to inaugurate the Federal Legislature, 30 April 1958.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis. Proceeds from this lot will be donated to charity.

Lot Essay

Princess Margaret arrived in Georgetown, British Guiana, on the 29 April 1958 having opened the Federal Legislature of the West Indies in Trinidad on 22nd of the month (see lot 368). She received a very warm welcome when she arrived by boat at the capital Georgetown.

Princess Margaret was presented with this jewelled paperknife at a children's rally at the cricket ground by six children, representing the six peoples of the colony. The gold and the diamonds out of which the knife was fashioned were reported to have produced in Guiana. The Princess commented that the paperknife was "an intimate reminder of the romantic and fabled riches of Eldorado."

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