Victorian Sterling Silver Coromandel Vanity Box

About the Item

Sterling Silver Vanity box veneered in stunning coromandel, bound and double strung in brass, with robust campaign carry-handles and engraved escutcheon. The interior features twelve hobnail-cut glass containers with elaborately engraved silver lids hallmarked: James Vickery, London 1857. These are finished with the letter G, and encrusted in ruby and turquoise pearl. The front of the box features a fold-down front fitted with various tools and accoutrements, a drawer containing three brushes, a shoe horn, glove stretchers and a comb. A second 'secret' jewellery drawer can only be accessed by pushing down on a screw in the back hinge - removing this gives access to a further secret compartment in the base of the box.... ideal for the storage of love letters and trinkets! The lid houses an engraved brass free-standing mirror, behind which is a secret letter compartment. The locks and hinges are all beautifully engraved with an entwined rope design, the lock also being engraved with: Henry Lewis, Goldsmith Jeweller & Dressing Case Maker, 7 New Bond St. London W. The box originates from a vast collection of heirlooms from the Glyn Cywarch estate in Wales, the family seat of the Barons Harlech and Ormsby-Gores. A family of strong political lineage, visitors to their estate over the years included Her Majesty the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Margaret, and Jackie Kennedy. Coromandel is a valuable wood found in India, Sri Lanka and South East Asia. It has a contrasting hazel-brown colour with black grain. It is a dense, heavy wood that is so popular it has been logged to extinction over the last few hundred years. Dressing Cases and Vanity Boxes were made to carry personal and toiletry items during travel for genteel ladies and gentlemen and were popular from the end of 18th Century to the last quarter of the 19th Century. During the first part of this period, most Dressing Cases were made for men. These were used for going to war, education or when socialising. From the beginning of the 19th Century cases for ladies became more common as did their capacity to travel, for long visits to relatives or friends. The boxes would contain perfume bottles, mirrors, brushes, combs, manicure sets and sometimes items for writing and concealed jewellery trays. The popularity declined for men during the Victorian era because men were expected to be more masculine, and ladies to be soft and pretty! Towards the end of the 19th Century Dressing Boxes became popular with all ladies, not just the more affluent.

Creator:
Henry Lewis (Retailer),James Vickery (Metalworker)
Dimensions:
Height: 8.86 in (22.5 cm)Width: 14.18 in (36 cm)Depth: 11.03 in (28 cm)
Style:
Victorian (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Glass,Sterling Silver
Place of Origin:
United Kingdom
Period:
Mid-19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1857
Condition:
Seller Location:
Northampton, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: 3352211stDibs: LU8027232307442