Description
Heading : Tunbridge Ware Coromandel Box – Inlaid Marquetry Image of Bayham Abbey c1865
Date : c1865
Period : Victorian
Origin : Tunbridge Wells. England
Decoration : A rectangular box of straight-edged profile and with a flat lid. The main decoration is Henry Hollamby’s depiction of Bayham Abbey. This is set in a small satinwood reserve and bounded by continuous and banded keyline stringing. which also encloses a floral wool-work frieze. The four sides of the box feature a similar. slightly wider. frieze and the same stringing; the keyhole has a stick-ware escutcheon. flush with the face. Internally the box has a simple void with no ledges or fitting grooves to indicate that any original features may be missing; it is finished with beautifully bright golden satinwood. The base is lined with a textured. very deep maroon paper. The form of the box is consistent with examples of work by Thomas Barton using Hollamby’s marquetry images. but – given the lack of green tesserae in the wool-work – it may well be the work of George Wise Junior; both manufacturers used the same double-hooked latches. one of which secures this example (although the key is missing).
Size : 22.8 cm wide – 16.3 cm deep – 7.6 cm high
Condition : Very fine; tiles virtually all intact and well-seated; there are some fine lateral cracks along the ‘grain’ of the marquetry image and reserve: there is a shallow 35mm scratch to the top face and an insignificant 8mm scratch to one side; the interior of the base is a little worn from use; key is absent
Restoration : professionally cleaned and polished.
Weight : 596 grams
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