An extremely rare George III Chamber Bougie Box made in London in 1785 by William Stephenson.
An extremely rare George III Chamber Bougie Box made in London in 1785 by William Stephenson.
375352
Bougie (Candle) Boxes very seldom have stands and carrying handles, as seen with this very fine example. The stand is circular in form with a raised rim decorated with beading and a border of pretty bright cut and prick dot engraving. The cylindrical main body would contain the coiled wax taper and is also engraved with arch work and stylised floral cascades. The pull off cover has a beaded rim and is engraved with a band of decoration, identical to that shown on the base. The cover also displays a hinged extinguisher for snuffing out the wax taper. This example has a circular loop carrying handle decorated with stylised bright cut designs. The front of the main body is engraved with the contemporary initials "SWB" in Georgian script lettering, all above the date 1785. This will relate to the original owner. This piece is in excellent condition and is fully marked on the underside and with the maker's mark, sterling mark and duty mark on the underside of the cover. This piece displays the rare Incuse Duty Mark, where the King's Head is contained within a cut cornered punch. This is only seen in 1784 and 1785. The underside of the base is also, unusually, marked with a second maker's mark for William Stephenson.
Height: 2.75 inches, 6.88 cm.
Diameter of the base: 4 inches, 10 cm.
Weight: 5oz.
RELATED ITEMS
 Boxes very seldom have stands and carrying handles, as seen with this very fine example. The stand is circular in form with a raised rim decorated with beading and a border of pretty bright cut and prick dot engraving. The cylindrical main body would contain the coiled wax taper and is also engraved with arch work and stylised floral cascades. The pull off cover has a beaded rim and is engraved with a band of decoration, identical to that shown on the base. The cover also displays a hinged extinguisher for snuffing out the wax taper. This example has a circular loop carrying handle decorated with stylised bright cut designs. The front of the main body is engraved with the contemporary initials "SWB" in Georgian script lettering, all above the date 1785. This will relate to the original owner. This piece is in excellent condition and is fully marked on the underside and with the maker's mark, sterling mark and duty mark on the underside of the cover. This piece displays the rare Incuse Duty Mark, where the King's Head is contained within a cut cornered punch. This is only seen in 1784 and 1785. The underside of the base is also, unusually, marked with a second maker's mark for William Stephenson.Height: 2.75 inches, 6.88 cm.Diameter of the base: 4 inches, 10 cm.Weight: 5oz. ){kind=link}