Silver & Objects of Vertu - Day 2 - 19th April 2023 - 19 Apr 2023
A Charles II silver tobacco box
A Charles II silver tobacco box,
maker's mark FP, with a quatrefoil beneath, probably for Francis Pile, London circa 1670,
oval form, the hinged cover engraved with an armorial and crest, within foliate scroll mantling, and inscribed 'Ralph Milburne', slide-action button to cover, inside of cover with steel spring, length 8.4cm, approx. weight 3.6oz.
The arms may be those of Ralph Milbourne of Chirton House, Tynemouth, Northumberland (1646-1689).
For the makers mark see Mitchell, D., Silversmiths in Elizabethan and Stuart London, Boydell Press 2017, pp.297-298.