A Bilston enamel Patch Box, South Staffordshire, circa 1790
The top of this oval patch box is ‘penciled’ in black with a named view of Ramsgate Pier. Small boats can be seen on either side of the pier, with the shorefront buildings of the town beyond. The base and ribbed sides are decorated with green enamel, and the hinged cover contains the original mirror. The interior is decorated with white enamel.
Exquisite ‘toys’ such as this would have been treasured gifts and tokens of esteem between lovers.
During the second half of the 18th century, the Midlands, especially areas around South Staffordshire and Birmingham, were centres for the production of small, metalwork items such as this patch box.
Condition: In good order, with only a few tiny losses and firing cracks to the interior rim, some possibly from manufacture. Very light tarnishing to the mirror and wear to the gilt mounts. No restoration.
Dimensions: Length across the base 4 cm; Width across the base 3 cm; Height 2.5 cm
Ref. The construction of Ramsgate Royal Harbour, Kent, comprising: the East Pier built under William Ockenden and Captain Robert Brooke of Margate, begun 1749, advanced pier added 1788-92 under John Smeaton; the West Pier (Ockenden and Brooke), begun 1752 with modifications by Samual Wyatt 1792-1803 (Historic England).
English Painted Enamels, Therle and Bernard Hughes (Country Life, 1951).
Bilston Enamels of the 18th Century, Tom Cope (Black Country Society, 1980).
English Enamel Boxes, Susan Benjamin (Macdonald Orbis, 1988).