Tunbridge Ware Lift-off Lid NEEDLES Box c1875

Description

Heading : Tunbridge Ware – A Small Lift-off Lid ‘NEEDLES’ Box
Date : c1875
Period : Victorian
Origin : Tunbridge Wells. England
Decoration : Small geometric bands framing the word NEEDLES to the lid; two further bands around all four edges of both the lift-off lid and base sections
Size : 6.2 x 2.0 x 3.6 cm
Condition : Excellent; no missing tesserae but there is a tiny sliver of veneer missing from one corner
Restoration : none
Weight : 14 grams

 Note : It’s generally accepted that it was Tunbridge Ware maker Henry Hollamby who first ‘perfected’ the art of creating text using miniature tesserae. However. it was clearly too engaging a technique for other producers to ignore. and they quickly followed suit. Perhaps the leading exponents when it came to following Hollamby’s lead were Boyce. Brown & Kemp; the fact that this box lid features a background made up of individual tesserae rather than a solid reserve around the lettering. suggests that it was a slightly earlier piece rather than one produced by these followers of fashion; similarly the letters are each discernible as individually made ‘blocks’ rather than being divided by vertical lines – another potential guide for attribution.