Russian Imperial Diamond and Enamel Presentation Box
An important diamond set enamel and gold Russian Imperial presentation box with monogram of Tsar Alexander II (1855-1881), mark of Carl Martin Weishaupt Und Sohne, hand crafted in gold, the ornately sculptured and engraved hinged box measuring 3.54 in. x 2.36 in. x 1.38 in., with raised and carved scrolled patterns to the lid, harlequin patterned blue enamel oval centre section and applied diamond set crown and initial 'A II', surrounded by an oval border of mine cut diamonds, with six old European cut diamonds to the surround totalling 10.60cts, the repousse body finely hand engraved and the base also engraved with a scroll, leaf and floral design, the inner lip is stamped with the numbers 2378 and hand etched 27377, the base impressed mark 5.51 in.ws 2378, mark of Carl Martin Weishaupt und Söhne, Hanau, 157 grams, with original fitted presentation box. by repute the box was originally gifted from Tsar Alexander II to Dr Sergei Botkin, the court Physician, to the Tsar in St Petersburg. Historians of the period note that often royalty would not pay for services rendered, instead they would be gifted valuable items or bestowed titles of nobility. the box later passed onto Dr Sergei Botkin's Son Dr Eugene Botkin, who was assassinated along with the Romanov family and their servants, on the 17th July 1918. Prior to this, Dr Botkin held a fundraising dinner party, where the box was part of an exclusive tombola to raise funds for a new children's hospital in Malmo. The Swedish great great grandfather, of one of the later owners of the box, Edward Engestrom (1821-1899) won the box after purchasing a ticket for 8000 Swedish crowns, along with only eight others. Edward Engestrom was a self-made Industrialist living in Malmo Sweden. The proceeds were used to build the children's hospital in Malmo where it still stands today. As a result of Edward Engstrom's donation two beds in the hospital were allocated specifically to the Engstrom family. Provenance: the Raymond Schlager collection, purchased from a descendant of the Engstrom family, circa 2006. notes, jewelled boxes of this type are rarely seen at auction in Australia. a similar example is held at the National Museum of Helsinki Finland. on 3rd December 2007 (Lot 110), Bonhams and Goodman sold a similar box for $234,000.00 Aud Ibp. on the 24th of February 2015, Sotheby's London sold a similar box that was paste set for $48,000.00 Gbp Ibp
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- Embossed / Repousse - Embossing, also known as repousse, is the technique of decorating metal with raised designs, by pressing or beating out the design from the reverse side of the object.It is the opposite of chasing, where the decoration is applied from the front. An embossed or repoussed object may have chasing applied to finish off the design.
- Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
- Important - Important is a word used in the antique trade to indicate an object should be ranked above other similar objects, and is therefore more valuable.
The object could be considered important because it is by a famous designer or maker, has been shown at a major exhibition, is of exquisite workmanship, is rare or is a "one-off", was made for an important patron, and so on.
Even further up the pecking order are objects that are described in catalogue descriptions as highly important or extraordinarily important.
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