Box (one of a pair) (part of a set)

John Parker|Edward Wakelin

1766/67 · Silver gilt · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

These boxes were part of a toilet service sold by the leading London retailers Parker and Wakelin to John Heathcote, who, a few years earlier, had married the heiress Lydia Moyer. Parker and Wakelin’s accounts for the sale show that the service included eight such boxes, a pair of candlesticks, two "essence pots," a looking glass, a "jewells trunk," and a pair of octagonal pierced trays. The cost for gilding the service was more than £56—roughly equal to the annual wage of a successful artisan—and the entire bill came to more than £300. There was a further charge of £6 6s for a "red morocco leather case with a drawer & 2 cushions."

Artist

John Parker|Edward Wakelin

Date

1766/67

Medium

Silver gilt

Culture

British, London

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2008