Silver tobacco box commemorating the Martyred King Charles I (c.1600-1649).

A silver tobacco box commemorating the Martyred King Charles I (c.1600-1649).

English, circa 1675.

Measures 8.1 x 6.4 x 2cm.

Weighs 103.4 grams.

The detachable cover of the box is set with a cast portrait medallion with a bust of Charles I facing right within the Latin inscription; ‘VIVAT REX CURRAT LEX FLORET GREX’ (‘The King lives, the law guides, the flock prospers’ or ‘Long live the King, may the law run its course, may the flock flourish’) and a broad pierced and engraved border decorated with emblems of England, Scotland and France within flowering scrolling foliage; two winged putti hover above, supporting a crown below the sun in splendour inscribed in Latin ‘Video’ (I see”).

A similar example can be found in ‘British Silver Boxes 1640 1840: The Lion Collection’, page 41, fig. 13.