A Tunbridge Ware Lift-off Lid ‘PINS’ Box c1890

Description

Heading : Tunbridge Ware – A Small Lift-off Lid ‘Pins’ Box
Date : c1890
Period : Victorian
Origin : Tunbridge Wells. England
Decoration : Small geometric bands framing the word PINS to the lid; two further bands around all four edges of both the lift-off lid and base sections
Size : 6.5 x 2.0 x 3.5 cm
Condition : Excellent; no missing tesserae or significant damage
Restoration : none
Weight : 17 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 solid reserve around the lettering. rather than a background made up of individual tesserae. suggests that it was produced by these followers of fashion rather than being a slightly earlier piece; similarly the letters are divided by vertical lines. rather than each being discernible as individually made ‘blocks’ – another potential guide for attribution.