A rare Charles II - William and Mary unmarked silver mounted shagreen barber surgeons instrument case, London circa 1670-90

A rare Charles II - William and Mary unmarked silver mounted shagreen barber surgeons instrument case, London circa 1670-90

Of rectangular form with a hinged lid, lock mechanism stuck. The lid mounts engraved centrally with a quartered coat of arms within foliate mantling, either side with an applied initial T and M, the hinge and lock plate mounts with engraved decoration of stylised tulips and foliage. A pull out sliding drawer to the side, leather lined.

Length – 17.6 cm / 6.9 inches

The arms are for the Company of Barber-Surgeons of the City of London

Arms: Quarterly 1st and 4th Sable a chevron between three fleams argent (for the Barbers’ Company) 2nd and 3rd Per pale argent and vert on a spatter of the first a double rose gules and argent crowned or over all a cross gules a lion passant guardant or (for the Fellowship of Surgeons)

An example with initials ME and dated 1695 was sold Christie’s London, 23 Oct 1991, lot 111 (£3300)

An example with initials SB was sold Christie’s London, 2 June 2009, lot 187 (£6875 incl. prem)

An example without drawer and with initials WC was sold Lyon and Turnbull, 4 December 2019, lot 428 (£2750 incl. prem)

An example with initials ZC is in the Welcome Collection (object number A608303)

An example without initials is in the Welcome Collection (object number A608302)

Two further examples are in the collection of the Barbers' Company, and another with initials IF is known privately.

An example without initials given a date of circa 1680 is illustrated Eric Delieb ‘Silver Boxes’ 1968 pp 31.

A plainer example dated circa 1672 is illustrated Bennion, E., (1992), Antique Medical Instruments, p. 62.

There was a Thomas Martyn (born? died ?) a senior member of the Company having served progressively as Renter Warden (1602), Middle Warden (1604) and Upper Warden (1607) upon the Company’s Court of Assistants, the Company’s governing body. Thomas never served as Master of the Company, there were several other gentlemen with the surname of Martyn who had served as Master and Warden, presumably the Martyns were a family of surgeons or physicians. Such a case would carry fleams (for bloodletting), silver catheters, scalpels, syringes and other medical paraphernalia.

The armorial bearings of the Company of Barbers-Surgeons were granted by Sir Gilbert Dethick, Garter King of Arms, Robert Cooke, Clarenceux King of Arms and William Flower, Norroy King of Arms at The College of Arms on the 2nd June 1569. The original Letters Patent are deposited in the Guildhall Library.