Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this lovely one of a kind Winsor & Newton 1977 Queen Elizabeth Jubilee presentation with sterling silver plaques and boxes Calamander wood Artist box. Where to begin, of its type this is the largest Winsor & Newton artist box you will ever see, its easily twice the size and weight of any I have come across, this was made as a presentation gift to Queen Elizabeth II on her Silver Jubilee in 1977, I have no idea if it was ever given to our good Queen as it doesn’t come with any paperwork, sadly Winsor and newton have donated all their historical archived data to the Hamilton Kerr Institute and at present they are waiting for funding to catalogue it all, once catalogued they will be able to tell the new owner the exact history of this piece. Now for this wonderful box where to begin, firstly as mentioned it is huge, the dimensions are below, this piece is exhibition size and quality throughout. The box itself is Calamander wood, Winsor & Newton founded in 1832 have been making these types of boxes for well over 150 years, they were almost always a lot more compact and designed primarily to be used on the go. The box is pinned in the corners with what looks like sterling silver nails and the sculptural hinges also look to be silver although I would imagine they are plated, the. Pièce de résistance of the box is the stunning 1977 Queens crown crested sterling silver Jubilee hallmarked plaque, it is a a work of art. Opening the box, you find inside the lid a lovely water colour template, running onto the first platform we find 6 numbered 100% cut crystal bottles, each engraved to the base with what looks like the Baccarat signature. The next row consists of 4 good sized sterling silver engraved boxes, two are original and bare all the same Jubilee sterling silver hallmarks, these hold inside sets of used and unused Carres Pastel crayons. The other two tins were missing so part of the restoration this lovely box went through was to have them made anew, Clive Burr at the Silversmiths college London undertook the project for me, and the end result simply put is perfect. In between these silver boxes is a lovely pottery pot stamped to the base S inside a U, inside said pot is three natural sponges. The next row down has a sterling silver artists sharpener, a selection of 24 mixed watercolour tubes, there are two sliding removal shelves which house a total of 24 mixed brand new in the original packaging water colour tabs, you have one custom made to size tub with a yellow tab in. The first drawer houses 5 new old stock Winsor & Newton paint brushes, these are not the original brushes or perhaps they are, but they were maybe used on the lower shelf. We then find four pottery mixing bowls silver leaf painted with the same hallmark S inside the U, in between these pots we have a pair of brand new in the original packaging Kneaded rubbers and a portable Winsor & Newton artist set with telescopic paint brush. The last drawer houses 16 new old stock Winsor & Newton artist brushes and then an absolutely magnificent original custom handmade Oxblood leather bound artist book, the book has handmade paper and the exact same size Jubilee Queen Elizabeth 1977 sterling silver plaque as the main box, it is mouth wateringly beautiful. So, there you have it, a rather spectacular find and certainly the only one you will ever see, if you are in the market for simply put the finest example of this type of piece, I mean museum quality which is I’m sure will be where this ends up then look no further, this is the only one of its kind and will never be on the market for sale again. In terms of the condition as mentioned above I have had the piece restored, it was a light process that consisted mostly of cleaning, the silver plaque on top was removed and professionally polished by Clive Burr at the same time as him making the two matching silver boxes that were missing, the old boxes were also professionally polished to the same mirror finish as was the artist sharpener. Please note all measurements are taken at the widest point, if you would like any additional or specific measurements please ask. DETAILS OF THE SILVERSMITH. Anthony Gordon Elson: born 1935 Worthing, Sussex. Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths. 1956 trained under Dunstan Pruden at Brighton College of Art where he received a diploma. 1960 to the Royal College of Art with a BA and Silver Medal for geometrical decoration in 1963 and in 1964 received a travelling bursary. Worked for William Comyns Ltd. 1964-68 where he was introduced to the production techniques that governed commercial viability. He went to Geneva and Tiffany’s factory in New York. By 1976 the company employed 25 producing Elson’s designs, the domestic silver production subsidising the ecclesiastical business. He aimed at mass production through retailers and a fine jug (1972) and cigarette box (1974) in the Goldsmiths Company collection illustrates his work. In the same year he formed Anthony Elson Silversmiths establishing a successful design and prototype workshop in Clerkenwell, London, working with freelance specialists, concentrating on individual silver commissions. In 1979 he edited a book published by the NAG “A Silversmith’s Manual” by Bernard Cuzner. Elson has been the Chairman of the Council for Craft at the Goldsmith’s Company and also served on the Council of City of London Guilds. Has exhibited widely in the UK, Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and the Middle East. His work can be found in many private and institutional collections. In 2002 he moved his studio and workshop to Sussex where he continues his commissioned work. He is currently developing a new technique to colour silver with stunning results. Royal House Antiques is a privately owned family ran business founded in Wimbledon SW19 and now based in Pulborough RH20. We specialise in finding, restoring very fine luxury antique leather seating, along with every single other type of antique ranging from the 16. Century to the 20. We also stock a number of designer brands such as Fritz Hansen, Ralph Lauren, Cavalli, Charles & Ray Eames, Vitra, David Linley, Rolex, Tiffany, Jager Le Coulter and so on. Please view the very detailed pictures as they form part of the description pertaining to the condition. Royal House Antiques cannot be held liable for any independent assumptions made regarding the items we sell, if you are unsure on any point, please feel free to ask for clarity. Please note vintage period and original items such as leather seating will always have natural patina in the form of creasing and wear, we recommend annual waxing to ensure no moisture is lost, also hand dyed leather is not recommended to sit in direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time as it will dry out and fade. This item is in the category “Antiques\Woodenware\Boxes”. The seller is “royal-house-antiques” and is located in this country: GB. This item can be shipped worldwide.
- Product Type: Boxes
- Primary Material: Wood/ Woodenware
- Style/ Period: Elizabethan
- Product: Boxes
- Age: Post-1940
- Material: Wood/ Woodenware
- Sub-Type: CALAMANDER WOOD
- Product Sub-Type: ARTIST BOX
- Original/Repro: Original
