DRYBURGH ABBEY. An important William IV Castle Top Snuff Box made in Birmingham in 1834 by Joseph Willmore.
DRYBURGH ABBEY. An important William IV Castle Top Snuff Box made in Birmingham in 1834 by Joseph Willmore.
202302
The Snuff Box is broad rectangular in form with a cast floral and foliate border on both the cover and base. The sides and base are decorated with engine turning and the centre of the base is engraved with J. Pitcher, the gift of Mr Holman, on a rectangular disc cartouche. The interior is finely gilded and displays crisp marks and the cover shows a finely detailed view of Dryburgh Abbey in high relief. The cover also displays the title of the scene in the bottom left hand corner, which is rarely seen on snuff boxes with views on the cover.
Dryburgh is a ruined abbey beside the river Tweed between Melrose and Kelso. It is smaller than the nearby abbeys at Jedburgh, Kelso and Melrose. The abbey was established by the Premonstratensian Order in 1150. Sir Walter Scott, the novelist,was buried here on 26th September, 1832, beside some of his ancestors and his wife, who had pre-deceased him in 1826. The quality of this box is outstanding and it is most unusual and very rare to see this view on a Snuff Box.
Length: 2.75 inches, 6.88cm
Width: 1.75 inches, 4.38cm.
Depth: 0.9 inches, 2.25 cm.
1834
Birmingham
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