18TH AND 19TH CENTURY

Details

TWO LIGNUM VITAE POUNCE POTS, A MORTAR AND PESTLE
18TH AND 19TH CENTURY
Together with a George I fruitwood muffineer with bone finial, another fruitwood muffineer and sycamore example; a sycamore trencher, platter and mealybeg; a fruitwood bowl; a walnut spice box; two fruitwood thumbscrew nutcrackers, a fruitwood three pronged fork with carved dog's head and an apple corer; a horn and bone mounted bodkin case in the form of a boot
6 ½ in. (16.5 cm.) high, the tallest pounce pot

Provenance

Christie's, London, Three Woods: The John Parry Collection, 25 March 2010, lot 6 (a pounce pot and muffineer)
Evan Thomas Collection, thence to W.J Collection (the platter)
El-Helou Collection, Christie's South Kensington, 19 May 1999, lot 782 (fruitwood bowl)
Christie's South Kensington, 30 June 1999, lot 971 (nutcracker)
Christie's South Kensington, 26 February 2003, lot 130 (nutcracker)
Christie's South Kensington, 21 February 2001, lot 160 (mortar and pestle)
David Levi, 2007 (George I fruitwood muffineer)

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country. Specified lots (sold and unsold) marked with a filled square not collected from Christie’s by 5.00 pm on the day of the sale will, at our option, be removed to Cadogan Tate. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. Our removal and storage of the lot is subject to the terms and conditions of storage which can be found at Christies.com/storage. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Cadogan Tate Ltd. All collections will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s it will be available for collection on any working day 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Lots are not available for collection at weekends.

Sale room notice

The estimate for this lot should be £3,500 - £4,000 and not as printed in the catalogue.

Lot Essay

Pounce was originally a powder sprinkled onto parchment to aid its use as a suitable surface for writing. When paper replaced parchment, a circular pounce-pot with a dished saucer-shaped top was used, to assist retaining the valuable pounce-powder. This type of powder was known as sandarach. The powder was sprinkled onto the paper and resin rubbed in with fingers or a pad to prevent the ink spreading. At the end of the 18th century, when paper quality had improved so much that its preparation with pounce-powder was unneccessary, another problem arose : the ink stayed wet on the page, so another type of pounce-powder, usually powdered-chalk, was developed (E. H. Pinto, Treen and other wooden bygones, London, 1969, p. 261 & figs. 264 S & U).
A muffineer is a treen version of the silver sugar caster, used to sprinkle sugar or spices such as grated cinnamon over muffins.

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