Skip to main content
Lot 38*,Y

A very rare Karelian birch and tortoiseshell musical snuffbox,
circa 1815, for the Russian market,

Amended
3 May 2012, 13:00 BST
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £5,500 inc. premium

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our Scientific Instruments specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

Ask about this lot

A very rare Karelian birch and tortoiseshell musical snuffbox,

circa 1815, for the Russian market,
Ser. No. 261,
the fine sur-plateau movement playing two airs, with twenty single-tooth arc on one side, twenty-one on the other, polished brass plates and female winding spindle, in part carved lornette-ray form case in figured Karelian, ridged profile with domed lid opening to reveal underbelly-cut tortoiseshell veneers, end caps and underside in darker tortoiseshell, start/stop to back-centre, with period male key - 3.3/4in. (9.5cm) wide, the sur-plateau disc diameter 1.3/8in. (3.5cm)

Footnotes

Condition: E IV 4(i)

Reference:
See lot 57 in Fine Mechanical Music and Scientific Instruments, 9th November 2011, Bonhams, for cylinder movement version in similar case.



Saleroom notices

This lot is marked with the Y symbol.

Additional information