APPARENTLY UNMARKED, CIRCA 1871

Details

A VICTORIAN GOLD AND ENAMEL CASKET
APPARENTLY UNMARKED, CIRCA 1871
Oblong and on four cast crouching Angel feet, the sides finely engraved with scenes emblematic of the good works of Baroness Burdett-Coutts, the front applied with an enamelled coat-of-arms below a baroness' coronet, the domed cover engraved on the short ends with pastoral scenes and on one long end with a scene of ships at sail, the other side engraved with a presentation inscription, all below an enamelled coat-of-arms, the border engraved with a further inscription, the inside of the cover engraved with a view of Columbia Market, mounted to a wood base and fitted with a glass dome and with a presentation scroll
6 in. (15.2 cm.) wide
The arms on the cover are those of the City of London.

The arms on the front are those of Burdett quartering Coutts for Angela Georgina, Baroness Burdett-Coutts (1814-1906).

The presentation inscription reads 'PRESENTED TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE ANGELA GEORGINA BARONESS COUTTS BY THE CORPORATION OF LONDON IN COMMEMORATION OF THE TRANSFER BY HER LADYSHIP OF COLUMBIA MARKET TO THE CORPORATION'

The inscription around the cover reads 'LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE BEFORE MAN THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS AND GLORIFY YOUR FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN'

Provenance

Presented to Baroness Coutts on the occasion of her presenting Colombia Market to the City of London and then by descent.

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.

Lot Essay

Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts (1814-1906) was the granddaughter of Thomas Coutts (1735-1822), founder and, in 1778, sole partner of the London banking firm Coutts & Co., and his first wife Susan Starkie (d. 1815). She used her wealth to amass a large art collection and to fund numerous philanthropic schemes for which she was created a Baroness by Queen Victoria in 1871. She died on December 30, 1906 and her body lay in State for two days, during which time 30,000 people paid their last respects. She was buried in Westminster Abbey on January 5, 1906.

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