PROBABLY LONDON, CIRCA 1725

The oak tree engraved on the cover of the present snuff-box may be a depiction of the Boscobel Oak, in which King Charles II hid from the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The story of the king's deception became popular after the Restoration and the image of the tree, which still exists today in the grounds of Boscobel House, Bishop's Wood, Shropshire, can be seen in dishes made by Staffordshire potter, Thomas Toft. Snuff-boxes and other objects of vertu said to have been made from the tree were also produced.