Octagonal box with arms of Henry Somerset-Scudamore, 3rd Duke of Beaufort (1707–1745)
This octagonal silver-gilt box with the arms of Henry Somerset-Scudamore, 3rd Duke of Beaufort (1707-1745). It was made by London silversmith John White in 1729 and formed part of the larger 'Beaufort Toilet Service', which included further boxes, a basin, and an ewer. Beaufort is best known for having commissioned the Badminton cabinet, an enormous pietre dure piece of furniture made in Florence and now in the Gartenpalais Liechtenstein in Vienna. Margaret Burr, Beaufort's illegitimate daughter, married Thomas Gainsborough, one of Britain's most significant portrait painters.
Artwork Details
- Title: Octagonal box with arms of Henry Somerset-Scudamore, 3rd Duke of Beaufort (1707–1745)
- Maker: John White (British)
- Engraver: Engraving attributed to Charles Gardiner (British)
- Date: 1729
- Culture: British, London
- Medium: Gilded silver
- Dimensions: confirmed: 2 15/16 × 4 7/8 × 4 15/16 in. (7.5 × 12.4 × 12.5 cm)
- Classification: Metalwork-Silver
- Credit Line: Bequest of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2019
- Object Number: 2019.283.110
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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