William IV Silver Snuff Box - Shipping & Salvage Interest Portsmouth

A rare and unusual William IV silver Snuff Box of rectangular form with engine turned decoration to the base and sides, raised foliate scroll chased borders and a raised scene to the lid depicting the ship COLONIST, burning at the Mother Bank at 10pm 27 Oct 1837. The hinged lid opening to a gilded interior with presentation inscription dedicated to Henry Justice Williams Esq ;-

To Henry JUSTICE Williams Esq,
PRESENTED BY THE SALVORS
in grateful testimony of their high
sense of his exertions in so ably
DEFENDING THEIR CLAIM

By Joseph Willmore, Birmingham, 1837.

See: cutting from contemporary local Newspaper.

The Motherbank is a shallow sandbar off the northeast coast of the Isle of Wight in England. It lies in the Solent between Cowes and Ryde.

The Motherbank is located near historically significant ports and anchorages such as Portsmouth, Spithead, Southampton, and St. Helen's Bay, and has long served as an important anchorage itself. Merchant ships have anchored at the Motherbank for centuries.

The Royal Navy for many years anchored old, decommissioned warships at the Motherbank while they awaited disposal. An old warship might be anchored there for anything between several weeks and several years before being sold, scrapped or sunk as a target.

Reserved - £1,850.00