Octagonal box with arms of Henry Somerset-Scudamore, 3rd Duke of Beaufort (1707–1745)

John White|Charles Gardiner

1729 · Gilded silver · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

This octagonal silver-gilt box with the arms of Henry Somerset-Scudamore, 3rd Duke of Beaufort (1707-1745). It was made by London silversmith John White in 1729 and formed part of the larger 'Beaufort Toilet Service', which included further boxes, a basin, and an ewer. Beaufort is best known for having commissioned the Badminton cabinet, an enormous pietre dure piece of furniture made in Florence and now in the Gartenpalais Liechtenstein in Vienna. Margaret Burr, Beaufort's illegitimate daughter, married Thomas Gainsborough, one of Britain's most significant portrait painters.

Artist

John White|Charles Gardiner

Date

1729

Medium

Gilded silver

Culture

British, London

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Bequest of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2019