£1,550
An early 18th century gold and pique inlaid tortoiseshell snuff box, presented by Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) to John Richardson, the hinged top inlaid with insects and flowers, engraved front edge 'The Gift of Dean Swift to John Richardson Esq.', the base inlaid with a single butterfly, length 83mm, depth 62mm, gross weight 57.8g. Jonathan Swift, the Anglo-Irish writer, Gulliver's Travels 1726 etc., nicknamed 'Dean Swift'. John Richardson mentioned as a classmate in Irvin Ehrenpreis, '...Swift and His Contempories', page 73, "Talent too could not guarantee distinction. John Richardson (B.A., 1686), though a gifted scholar, deeply religious, and energetic in the pursuit of his ends, chose to devote himself to the conversion of the Irish-speaking natives. His cause found small favour with those irresistible powers who desired no weakening of the 'English interest' ; and the summit of his preferments was an impoverished deanship.".
Length 83mm, depth 62mm & height 13mm. Provenance - collected by the late Ernest Young (silver and jewellery dealer), sold on behalf of the estate. Tests as 15ct gold however sold without purity guarantee. Condition - missing inlay and cracks to top.
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