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Lot Essay
Presentation snuff-boxes of related design to the present lot were George IV's preferred gift, which he bestowed upon diplomats, courtiers and Royal favourites. The opulence of the enamelling and chased vari-coloured gold design varied as an indication of the recipient's status and importance to the King. A number of differently decorated versions of boxes similar to the present lot exist in the Royal Collection, at the Victoria and Albert Museum and in prestigious private collections. The present snuff-box relates most closely in style to the presentation box in the Royal Collection, commissioned by George IV from Rundell, Bridge & Rundell and presented to Henry, first Marquess Conyngham in 1820 (Royal Treasures: A Golden Jubilee Celebration, ed. by J. Roberts, London, 2002, illustrated in colour p. 331, no. 297, inv. no. RCIN 3835). The omission of the badges of the Orders of the Garter, Thistle, Bath and the Guelphic Order and St Patrick in the decorative scheme of the present snuff-box suggests that its recipient was of lesser status than that of the Royal Collection snuff-box. However, the inclusion of the royal crown and enamelled border give the box a relative degree of lavishness, which suggests that it was a noble presentation. Rundell's accounts include a number of presentation boxes including a tortoiseshell box 'with Cameo of The King on Cover, richly mounted & lined with Gold, chased Ornaments, & enameled, & chased Orders round' which was supplied to the King in 1821 for 81 18s (Royal Treasures, loc. cit.). The medallion depicting George IV as a Roman Emperor, seen on both the Royal Collection box and the present lot has been identified as after Thomas Wyon Junior on the basis of an identical medallion signed by the artist on a related rectangular presentation snuff-box - also in the Royal Collection - and on a presentation box given to Simón Bolívar in 1821, held in a private collection (C. Truman, 'Rundell's and Their Gold Box Suppliers', in Royal Goldsmiths: The Art of Rundell & Bridge 1797-1843, Cambridge, 2005, illustrated in colour p. 156, no. 65 and p. 43, fig. 36). Wyon's medallion was based on a bust of George IV, executed by his most famous sculptor, Sir Francis Chantrey (see lot 135) after whom medals were also cut by Alfred Joseph Stothard (C. Truman, op. cit., p. 44). The likelihood that the box was made by or closely after examples by Alexander James Strachan is supported by examples in the collection of The Duke of Devonshire and by the presentation box for Simón Bolívar, both of which are marked by the goldsmith (C. Truman, op. cit., illustrated in colour p. 157, no. 67 and p. 43, fig. 36). The box cannot be firmly attributed however, due to the fact that Rundell's does not appear to have an agreement of exclusivity. Furthermore, though Alexander James Strachan supplied Rundell, Bridge & Rundell with the majority of their finest snuff-boxes, comparable works by John Northam are also known (C. Truman, op. cit., p. 45).