Fine Silver & Objects of Vertu - 28th April 2026

Lot 224

A late-17th century silver-mounted hornbook,

Estimate £3,000 - £5,000 | Hammer £6985

Inc. Buyers Premium

Description

A late-17th century silver-mounted hornbook,
maker's mark W.P, circa 1670,
rectangular form, the reverse engraved with a bird within foliate scroll decoration, the handle with engraved decoration and with a pierced heart motif, with printed on paper letters of the alphabet and the Lord's prayer,in a later fitted case with a collection label and tooled title 'Silver Hornbook', length 11cm.

Provenance: A Private Collection.
Kenneth Davis Works of Art.
Cornelius J. Hauck Collection, Christie's New York, 27 June 2006, lot 306A.
Mrs Sophia Harford Adlam of Chew Magna, Somerset, purchased from Emil Offenbacher, 3 June 1955.
Literature: See Tuer, History of The Horn Book, Arno Press 1979, p. 103-104 (illustrated as pl. 37).