A George III silver and coconut shell snuff box

A George III silver and coconut shell snuff box,

no apparent maker's mark, London 1798,

circular form, the hinged cover engraved with a scene of the Scarborough Cliff Bridge with a beach scene behind with ships, and inscribed 'GEORGE VICKERS Grove House Nr. SHEFFIELD LENGTH 344FT. HEIGHT 67FT. SCARBOROUGH CLIFF BRIDGE. B. 14ft', also engraved with a square and compass and a pair of compasses, possibly for a Masonic connection, the underside of the box formed by a carved coconut shell with a face with engraved teeth, diameter 7.8cm.

Provenance: purchased from Christie's New York, Import Silver, Objects of Vertu and Russian Works of Art, 21 October 2003, lot 184.

The Cliff Bridge, in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England spans the valley from St Nicholas Cliff to The Spa, it was completed in 1827. it was built to give easier access to the spa.

The bridge has four segmental braced iron arches on plain tapering stone piers with stone abutments, and it is a rare example of a multiple-span cast iron bridge.