Bilston & Battersea Enamels Mother Day 1975 Box

Collectibles : Enamel Box : Bilston & Battersea : Halcyon Days

 

This beautiful little enamel over copper box honoring Mother's Day was produced in 1975 by Bilston & Battersea Enamels in England. The craft of enameling over copper to produce small boxes used for snuff or ladies beauty marks (known as patches) was popular in the 1700's but passed out of favor by the early 1800's. Susan Benjamin, owner of Halcyon Days, an antique store in London, spearheaded the revival of the craft and produced the first Bilston & Battersea Enamels designed by Halcyon Days in 1970. In 1980, the name was changed to Halcyon Days Enamels. The beautiful little boxes have become extremely collectible and continue to be produced. This box issued for Mother's Day was one of the original Bilston & Battersea boxes from the 1970's, and is marked such on the interior. The clasp closes tightly. The brass bezel has some spotting and could use some polishing. It sometimes pops off when one attempts to open the box, so you may want to have it re-glued. The enamel base is a yellow and gold basket weave design. The interior is white with a bucolic landscape on the lid. The top of the lid is decorated with a bouquet of yellow daffodils, paper-white narcissus, and orange tulips. The enamel box is in excellent condition. It measures1.75" in diameter across the lid and about 1.25" tall. It comes in the original turquoise box with velvet interior. The box has a tear on the front corner as shown in the photos, where apparently an old label was removed and took a small area of the turquoise with it. The interior of the lid states "By appointment to H. M. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, Halcyon Days Ltd. London Suppliers of Objects D'Art." According to Susan Benjamin in her book, The First 25 Years of Halcyon Days Enamels, "Between 1972 and 1987 we were honoured to be granted their [the British Royal Family] royal warrants as the first ever 'Suppliers of Objects d'Art' and one of just ten firms to hold all four royal warrants." Also enclosed is the original Certificate of Origin signed "Susan" in the corner which describes the history of the craft.

Item ID: 1284