A GOLD, HARDSTONE AND ENAMEL SNUFF BOX, JOHANN CHRISTIAN NEUBER, DRESDEN, CIRCA 1775

A GOLD, HARDSTONE AND ENAMEL SNUFF BOX, JOHANN CHRISTIAN NEUBER, DRESDEN, CIRCA 1775

oval, the lid and base with a sunray pattern of carnelian, hung with bloodstone laurel garlands, centred with simulated pearls, within a border of alternating turquoise forget-me-not flowers and simulated pearls within bloodstone leaves, on chased gold ground, the lid set with a later enamel plaque painted with St Matthew the Apostle, Continental School, circa 1825, within chased gold frame, the sides similarly decorated, in a later leather case
8.5cm., 3⅜in. wide
(2)

Condition Report:
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Provenance:
Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773–1843);

his sale, Christie's London, 12 June 1843, lot 542;

Emile Wertheimer, his sale, Sotheby's London, 13-14 July 1953, lot 279;

anonymous vendor, Christie's London, 6 November 2001, lot 93

An earlier owner of the present box was probably Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773-1843, see fig. 1) the ninth child of King George III and his consort Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He was sent with his brothers, Prince Ernest, later Duke of Cumberland, and Prince Adolphus, later Duke of Cambridge, to the University of Göttingen in Germany, and was the only son of King George III who did not receive military training. On 4 April 1793, the Prince secretly married Lady Augusta Murray (1768-1830) in Rome, having met the daughter of the 4th Earl of Dunmore on his travels through Italy. Because their marriage took place against the consent of his father, it was considered invalid and eliminated his children from the royal line of succession. Prince Augustus Frederick was created Duke of Sussex in 1801, and became president of the Society of Arts in 1816. Between 1830 and 1838, The Duke of Sussex was President of the Royal Society, the oldest national scientific institution in the world. Not only did he have a great love for the arts, but also a strong interest in biblical studies; his personal library contained over 50,000 theological manuscripts. It might therefore not be a coincidence that the present gold box, possibly a present from his mother, Queen Charlotte, a known admirer of Neuber and owner of several of his boxes, has been set, possibly by the Duke himself with an enamel plaque of St Matthew, dating from around 1825.