Gold Boxes, Ceramics & Silver
Gold Boxes, Ceramics & Silver
A gold and enamel snuff box, Hanau, circa 1805
Lot Closed
May 26, 12:50 PM GMT
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
A gold and enamel snuff box
Hanau, circa 1805
rectangular with rounded corners, the lid inset with an enamel plaque painted with Cornelia and her jewels, within a chased leafy border on a sablé ground, framed by a dark blue taille d'épargne border, the sides and base with an engine-turned lozenge pattern within geometrically arranged borders, maker's mark GT incuse above a crowned lion rampant and between a shield and sunburst, the rim numbered: 991
9.2cm., 3 5/8. in. wide
Cornelia was highly regarded as a model Roman matron and heroine. Daughter of the Roman general Scipio Africanus Major, she was married to Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus with whom she had two sons, Tiberius and Gaius, both of which also held important public office in Rome. According to the first century Latin writer Valerius Maximus, one day Cornelia was visited by a Roman noblewoman, who was richly dressed in expensive clothes and showing off her precious jewellery. When the visitor asked Cornelia to show her jewels, Cornelia put her arms around her children's shoulders, declaring that those were her jewels. The popular subject can also be found in Italian Renaissance painting.