Tunbridge Ware A Large Gentleman’s Handkerchief Box – Mosaic Image of Grazing Deer c1910

Description

Heading : Tunbridge Ware – A Large Gentleman’s Handkerchief Box – Mosaic Image of Grazing Deer
Date : c1910
Period : Edwardian
Origin : England; Tunbridge Wells (see below for maker)
Decoration : Hinged lid with mosaic image of a recumbent stag and grazing deer. set in a golden satinwood background; bounded by a seven-square geometric band. itself within two sets of single. multi-coloured banded and two continuous keylines. All within walnut veneers which extend over the remainder of the box; embossed paper lining to the base. non-original padded olive satin lining to the inside of the lid and the well. The inside edges of both the base and lid are veneered with a darker wood with chamfered edges giving an attractive finish.
Size :  18.5 cm wide x 18.5 cm deep x 7.3 cm high
Condition : Excellent; all tesserae intact; two areas to the top where the veneer appears to have split but been reapplied and a tiny replacement sliver to one corner
Restoration : Placement of non-original lining as above; maintenance as above – larger veneer ‘repairs’ possibly during manufacture
Weight :  637 grams

Notes: This is clearly a very late 19th or 20th century piece given the condition and ‘hardware’. but the provenance of the image tells an interesting tale; the same design (albeit reversed) was used by Henry Hollamby on a book stand dated elsewhere to 1860; Hollamby’s workshop was in production to a point in 1891 when it was damaged by fire. and all the surviving materials passed to Messrs Boyce. Brown & Kemp. This partnership persisted until 1916. when it was in turn acquired by John Thomas Ellis (who sold his wares from an outlet on the Pantiles) and lastly on to David King Ltd for just the one year. 1923.