Roseberys London
Lot 447
A Victorian coromandel vanity case, mid-19th century, the hinged lid with monogrammed cartouche enclosing a removable mirror, the fitted interior with lift-out compartment and fitted with various silver-gilt topped glass boxes, bottles and containers, with floral chasing and central monogrammed cartouches to lids, marked London, 1854, maker's mark JH, one circular lid is replaced, London, 1849, Halstaff & Hannaford (William Halstaff & Thomas Charles Hannaford), with partially fitted tray with manicure items and propelling pencils and pen, above a gilt-tooled tray, the lock mechanism marked S. MORDAN & Co. LONDON and PATENT with crown stamp, the front with flush push-release drawer below with hinged leather writing surface enclosing fitted jewellery compartments, 19cm high, 32cm wide, 25cm deep Condition Report: This case and the contents within are in overall good condition and present well. The exterior: some wear including scratches and deep marks, cracks to sections of coromandel, and tarnished brass mounts, the underside has green felt lining. The case locks and unlocks smoothly with a push-release mechanism, opens smoothly, and locks into place on brass sliding hinges.The interior: the mirror plate is in good condition with only a couple of light scratches, the fitted interior has some light marks and losses of leather, the lift-out compartment has two small brass ringlets which lift the tray easily from its compartment. The glass containers and bottles with general surface dirt in the grooves of the hobnails and minor nibbles to edges and some minor damage to glass including one cylindrical tall bottle with a cracked base, the other cylindrical bottle with minor chip to rim, one small rectangular container with chip to base, and the thinner rectangular container with chip to side rim and chips to corners. The silver-gilt tops are in good condition with light tarnishing, the silver-gilt beaker has moderate tarnishing in concentrated areas and is slightly misshapen to rim, the leather tray to the interior has smart gilt tooling which has not faded. The various manicure items have considerable tarnishing and some rust especially to the pliers and scissors, and there are associate pen and pencil holders. The vesta case has damage to the green enamel interior. The push-release drawer: the mechanism is functional, the leather top has some creasing and marks, and lifts out easily to reveal a fitted compartment interior with some general wear to the leather and lining.
