A GEORGE I GOLD SNUFF-BOX

LONDON, CIRCA 1720; THE ENGRAVING ATTRIBUTED TO THE WORKSHOP OF SIMON GRIBELIN

Details

Oval, polished gold, the hinged cover engraved with a coat-of-arms flanked on each side by two lions facing each other, and beneath helm and crest, within an elaborate foliate scroll cartouche, on a ruled ground and enclosed by a border of engraved pearls, apparently unmarked
3 in. (7.8 cm.) long
2 oz. 12 dwt. (81 gr.)
The arms are those of Cooke, of Langham, co. Suffolk
Provenance

Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 28 April 1992, lot 119.
Lot Essay

The quality and the design of the engraving on this snuff-box suggest that it was made in the workshop of Simon Gribelin (1661-1733). Indeed the lions clambering amid distinctive foliage with no apparent ground, and the use of a background of horizontal hatching, are typical of Gribelin's work and appear in his published work and in the two albums of his engravings on silver that have survived.
Simon Gribelin came from a family of watchmakers from Blois and seems to have established himself as an engraver within two years of his arrival in England with the publication of 'A Book of Severall Ornaments' in 1682, re-issued in 1700 and 1704. In 1697, he published another pattern book aimed at jewellers and watchmakers, justly entitled, 'A Book of ornaments useful to Jewellers, Watchmakers and all other artists'. Although Gribelin much like his contemporary engravers such as Blaise Gentot surpassed by their technic native engravers, their sources of designs were somewhat outdated. Thus Gribelin's designs with their symetrical motifs encased in elaborate scroll work are reminiscent of those of the Vauquier family active in Blois whose 'Livres de Fleurs Propres pour orfèvres et graveurs' was published circa 1680.