Tortoiseshell, tiger shell (Cyprea), mother of pearl, silver and bronze, partly gilt
England et al., 18/19th century
Box 1: rectangular body made of gilt silver, slightly rounded corners, retracted wall, cover and bottom with tortoiseshell inserts, hinged lid with thumb rest, profiled cover mount, punctated décor to the underside, gilt interior, presumably 18th century
Dimensions: 82 x 57 x 22 mm; weight: circa 70.64 grams
Box 2: Tiger shell with gilt bronze mount, hinged lid in the natural shell opening, presumably England, 19th century
Dimensions: 68 x 50 x 32 mm, weight: circa 73.33 grams
Box 3: rectangular silver casing, cover and bottom with mother of pearl inserts, sculptured edges, plain wall with diamond pattern all round
Hallmarked with lion passant (= sterling silver), Queen Victoria, maker’s mark J.W. (= Joseph Willmore), date letter Q (= 1839) and anchor (= city mark of Birmingham), remains of gilding
Dimensions: 57 x 43 x 20 mm; weight: circa 72 grams
Good condition
Three fine antique snuff boxes manufactured from natural materials, which give an idea of the variety of materials used to manufacture objects like this.

The three snuff boxes from the 18th and 19th centuries stand out through the use of different natural materials. The nicely shimmering English mother of pearl box delights with its finely chiseled edges and the diamond patterns to the wall. Moreover, the box in the form of a tiger shell, whose cover is located in the natural shell opening, is particularly striking. The box with the tortoise shell inlays is embellished with a fine punctuated decor to the underside, showing a hare in a landscape along with insects.

The boxes are in good overall condition, showing light wear. The shell has a few cracks, and the mother of pearl box has two small losses to the underside. The tortoiseshell box shows major abrasion of the gilding. The dimensions of the boxes are 82 x 57 x 22 mm, 68 x 50 x 32 mm and 57 x 43 x 20 mm, and their weight is about 70 grams each.

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