An early 18th century silver 'Boscobel Oak' snuff box

An early 18th century silver 'Boscobel Oak' snuff box,

unmarked circa 1710,

oval form, the hinged cover set with oak and applied with an engraved tree with Charles II peering out and a cherub bringing three crowns, at the base of the tree are two equestrian soldiers, gilded interior, the inside of the cover inscribed 'The Viscount Tredegar, Tredegar Park, Newport, Mon.', the underside of the base with an oval cartouche, length 7.7cm.

A similar box is illustrated in Butler, R. The Albert Collection, Broadway Publishing 2004, page 27, entry 221, and Culme, J., British Silver Boxes, The Lion Collection, The Antique Collector' Club 2015, pages 98/99, entry number 85.

Snuff boxes of this form are reputed to have been made from timber from the 'Boscobel Oak'. After defeat at Worcester, Prince Charles took refuge at Boscobel, near Donnington in Shropshire at the home of Colonel Pendril, and for the first night they successfully hid him in a tree while Parliamentary soldiers searched for him.