George V Silver Mounted Tortoiseshell Box by Finnigans, London

A George V sterling silver mounted tortoiseshell box, Finnigans,…
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A George V sterling silver mounted tortoiseshell box, Finnigans, New Bond Street, London 1913, of rectangular form with classical gadrooned borders, 8 cm high, 23 cm wide, 18 cm deep. Provenance: Romayne Munro (nee Hordern) of Point Piper and Milton park, Bowral.. Other Notes: Benjamin Finnigan opened a workshop in Newton Street mill, and a Finnigans shop in 15 market Street, both in Manchester. Finnigans was originally known for the manufacturing of high quality dressing cases and travelling trunks., Benjamin Finnigan registered marks with both Chester and London assay offices in 1830., When Benjamin died in 1868 he was succeeded by his Son William Finnigan, who embodied the second generation of the family's firm., in 1879, William opened a Finnigans shop at New Bond Street, London. Relatively quickly, American millionaires such as the Vanderbilts, the Rockefellers and the Fords joined the house's customer base., Interestingly, opposite to Finnigans on Bond Street was the firm Asprey. The two houses enjoyed a friendly and highly competitive rivalry benefiting both companies, at this time while still specializing in leather and saddlery, they diverged and started selling clocks, watches, and silverware., Finnigans Ltd registered marks at the London, Sheffield, Chester and Dublin offices in 1901, and subsequently with the Birmingham assay office in 1904., the Company thrived untiI 1968 when Finnigans closed its New Bond Street store in London. It continued to run as a family business until it shut down its last store in 1988. The family were bought out around this time by a Company called Hoopers., Today, Finnigans Ltd now belongs to the Luvanis Company, who specialise in reviving dormant brands.

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  • Tortoiseshell - Tortoiseshell is a translucent material that comes from the horny carapace of a certain types of turtles, including the hawksbill turtle. It is often therefore mounted on a colour underground - often red - or inlaid with gold or silver thread, as seen in Boulle furniture.

    The texture and colour nuances of the material are extremely important. Heated tortoiseshell can easily be formed into various shapes. Like other natural materials, tortoiseshell becomes more beautiful with use. In a time before plastic, tortoiseshell was widely used for small objects such as combs and powder compacts.

    In 1973, the trade of tortoiseshell worldwide was banned under CITES (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). Prior to importing or exporting items containing tortoiseshell a CITES permit must be obtained. Tortoiseshell items cannot be traded on Ebay.

    "Faux tortoiseshell", another case of man initiating nature, is made from old-style plastics such as celluloid and cellulos and is coloured with red, yellow and brown spots to imitate the genuine article. It is commonly used in glasses frames, musical instruments and costume jewellery.
  • Assay / Assayed - Assaying is the testing of a metal, most commonly silver and gold to determine its ingredients and quality. In Britain, once an item of silver or gold has been assayed, a mark is stamped on it, certifying its purity. Known as hallmark, it derives its name from the Guild Hall of the Goldsmiths' Company, who recieved its Charter in 1327 giving it the power to assay and mark articles of gold and silver.
  • Gadrooning - A series of lobes usually as a border. In furniture gadrooning is found as carved decoration around the edges of table tops in the Chippendale and Jacobean style furniture. Gadrooning is also found as decoration on the rims of silver and ceramics.
  • Sterling Silver - Sterling silver is a mixture of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% of another metal, usually copper. Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver, and is relatively soft and the addition of the very small amount of copper gives the metal enough strength and hardness to be worked into jewellery, decorative and household objects.
  • George V - George V (1865 ? 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 until his death in 1936.

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