Toy was a term used in the 18th century to describe a small decorative item such as a snuff box, scent bottle or seal fob. Toymakers and Toyshops supplied these fashionable adult accessories to the aristocracy and the burgeoning middle class market.

Fromery enamel snuff box
A rare Berlin enamel Snuff Box with silver-gilt mounts, modelled as a seashell and richly decorated with classical, mythological, and allegorical scenes in gold and enamel. The workshop of Pierre Fromery, circa 1730
18th century porcelain
A rare Meissen Thimble Case, circa 1750
A Chelsea Seal Fob in the form of a young Bacchus, mounted in gold and set with a carnelian, Gold Anchor period, circa 1756-69
A Charles Gouyn, St James’s Seal Fob in the form of a Chinaman with a pot of flowers, mounted in gold and set with a carnelian engraved with a pelican piercing its breast with its beak, circa 1750-59
A rare spectacle-shaped Saint-Cloud Snuff Box, mounted in silver and decorated with moulded indianische Blumen picked-out with enamels in the Kakiemon palette, circa 1748
A Charles Gouyn, St James’s Seal Fob in the form of a Watteauesque musician, mounted with a polished agate, circa 1750-59
Ramsgate pier antique enamel box
A Bilston green enamel Patch Box, the cover decorated with a named view of Ramsgate Pier, Bilston, circa 1790
Whieldon miniature pottery
A rare Whieldon Toy or Miniature Tea Bowl and Saucer, decorated with a brown tortoiseshell glaze on a creamware body, Staffordshire, circa 1770
miniature porcelain mug
A Miniature porcelain Mug, probably Coalport, circa 1820
A London enamel Snuff Box, circa 1760
A Chinese Toy or Miniature Coffee Cup and Tea Bowl with sepia and gilt decoration, circa 1790
English enamel patch box
A South Staffordshire enamel Patch Box, circa 1765
A Lowestoft Child’s Saucer, decorated with the Fence pattern in underglaze blue, circa 1775
A French enamel Bonbonnière or Snuff Box, circa 1750
black basalt Leeds Pottery
A black basalt Portrait Medallion depicting Lucius Junius Brutus, Leeds Pottery, probably 19th century
An opaque white glass Vase, South Staffordshire, circa 1760
antique English enamel scent flask
A Bilston enamel Scent Flask, circa 1765
A large English enamel Bonbonnière in the form of an egg, circa 1770
18th century porcelain
A rare Saint-Cloud Bonbonnière in the form of a Swan, circa 1745
A French cut-glass Scent Flask, circa 1860
An opaque white glass Vase, South Staffordshire, circa 1760
An English Snuff Box set with agate and mother-of-pearl, probably Birmingham, 18th Century
18th century porcelain
A rare Chelsea or Girl-in-a-Swing (Charles Gouyn, St James’s) Seal Fob, circa 1755
18th century porcelain
A Chelsea Seal Fob, circa 1755
19th century porcelain
A miniature Scent Flask, English, circa 1840
English enamel snuff box
A Birmingham enamel Snuff Box, circa 1765, the cover unusually printed with a harbour scene
A Bilston enamel Salt, circa 1780
canary ware toy mug
A canary yellow pottery Toy Mug, printed with the Sailor’s Farewell, English, circa 1820
A pale lavender Scent Flask with applied encrusted flowers, probably Coalport, circa 1830
Toy or miniature creamware dinner service
A Hackwood Miniature or Toy creamware Dinner Service, Staffordshire, circa 1830
Three Miniature or Toy Dinner Plates, printed in blue with the Institution pattern. Hackwood, Staffordshire, circa 1830