APPARENTLY UNMARKED, FIRST HALF 17TH CENTURY

The term pomander is from the French pomme d'ambre, for apple of amber. As the etymology suggests, pomanders are most commonly found in a spherical forms. The book-form of the present lot is exceptionally rare. A smaller James I pomander circa 1610, also in the form of a book, is illustrated in E. delieb, Silver Boxes, London, 1968, p. 48 and 49. Pomanders contained a variety of spices and perfumes and were suspended from the neck, girdle or chatelaine, enabling the owner to smell the scents when desired. Pomanders were used to ward off bad smells and, in the mind of the 16th and 17th century citizen, would thus protect against infection. The design of the present lot unusually accommodates a wider array of twelve scents, instead of the standard six. Amongst others, it contained apple, lavender, muscat and rose.