An extremely rare George III Scottish Snuff Box made by J. McKenzie of Edinburgh circa 1810.
An extremely rare George III Scottish Snuff Box made by J. McKenzie of Edinburgh circa 1810.
375518
Snuff Boxes made in Scotland, of this type, are scarce and this is an exceptional example. As you will see from the images, the box is broad rectangular in form, with a plain base and bold reeded sides. The cover displays two cast floral frames in sizes and a similarly decorated thumb piece. The cover is inset with a large facetted pale citrine which is finely engraved with a view of Edinburgh Castle. Edinburgh Castle stands on Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a Royal castle on the rock since the Reign of Malcolm III in the 11th century and the castle continued to be a Royal residence until 1633.
The interior is finely gilded and engraved with the following contemporary inscription:
" PRESENTED
TO
James Brodie Gordon Esqr
AS A SMALL TOKEN OF ESTEEM AND REGARD
By his
SINCERE FRIEND
James Pearson,"
At about this time a James Pearson, Office of Excise, lined at Crawfords Close, Grassmarket, Edinburgh. James Brodie Gordon later moved to London. His eldest son James William Gordon (Mate of the Copenhagen) was drowned on 14th December, 1859 at Negapatam in the East Indies.
The box is in quite excellent condition and is of the finest quality. It is marked twice in the cover and base with the maker's mark of JMK which has been attributed to J. McKenzie formerly of Dundee, who moved to Edinburgh and was working in the city at this date. This is detailed in "Scottish Provincial Silversmiths & Their Marks" by Richard W. Turner.
Length: 3 inches, 7.5 cm.
Width: 2.25 inches, 5.63 cm.
Height: 0.95 inches, 2.38 cm
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![](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://www.marycooke.co.uk/british-silver-1760-1830/an-extremely-rare-george-iii-scottish-snuff-box-made-by-j-mckenzie-of-edinburgh-circa-1810&media=https://seek-unique-co.s3.amazonaws.com/marycooke-8876-Qfhef-OE67/stock/68f26d8cef0b6_image_url_xx78a.jpg&description=Snuff Boxes made in Scotland, of this type, are scarce and this is an exceptional example. As you will see from the images, the box is broad rectangular in form, with a plain base and bold reeded sides. The cover displays two cast floral frames in sizes and a similarly decorated thumb piece. The cover is inset with a large facetted pale citrine which is finely engraved with a view of Edinburgh Castle. Edinburgh Castle stands on Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a Royal castle on the rock since the Reign of Malcolm III in the 11th century and the castle continued to be a Royal residence until 1633. The interior is finely gilded and engraved with the following contemporary inscription: " PRESENTEDTOJames Brodie Gordon EsqrAS A SMALL TOKEN OF ESTEEM AND REGARDBy hisSINCERE FRIENDJames Pearson," At about this time a James Pearson, Office of Excise, lined at Crawfords Close, Grassmarket, Edinburgh. James Brodie Gordon later moved to London. His eldest son James William Gordon (Mate of the Copenhagen) was drowned on 14th December, 1859 at Negapatam in the East Indies.The box is in quite excellent condition and is of the finest quality. It is marked twice in the cover and base with the maker's mark of JMK which has been attributed to J. McKenzie formerly of Dundee, who moved to Edinburgh and was working in the city at this date. This is detailed in "Scottish Provincial Silversmiths & Their Marks" by Richard W. Turner.Length: 3 inches, 7.5 cm.Width: 2.25 inches, 5.63 cm.Height: 0.95 inches, 2.38 cm ){kind=link}