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| Enamel wild boar, c. 1760-70. Sold at Bonham's for £1.375 in 2011. Originally from the Mort & Moira Lesser collection. |
Important note: Some of these boxes include mild eighteenth-century erotica.
Box 1
Box 2 (part)
A detached lid (below) depicting a scene of a wild boar hunt is held at Wolverhampton Museum and Art Gallery, with two men and two dogs- the man on the horse blowing a horn. The shape of the lid is exact to the box above, so suggests, along with the imagery, that it was once attached to a boar bonbonnière.
Box 3
This is another beautifully painted boar bonbonnière with the brush stokes of each hair visible across the enamel, and expressive eyes. The lid (second image) depicts man on a horse spearing a boar which is much more crudely painted than the head itself, which suggests that the heads and lids of these boxes were painted by different people, and possibly at different workshops.
Box 4
Box 5
This boar is painted in a similar way to boxes 3 and 4, again with a boar-hunting scene on the lid, but with a secret hidden inner lid with a flirtatious scene.
Box 6
An much cruder example than the previous examples is the boar below, which is probably a later example made of a poorer quality for a wider market. The shape has also been simplified, fitting a circular lid, but still depicting a boar hunt.
The boar head box (above and below) was probably made in Birmingham or Bilston in the 1760s. They were usually bonbonnières, which were boxes for keeping sweets, often used to sweeten the breath in eighteenth-century social encounters. Lots of boar boxes survive suggesting that they were popular, or perhaps they were preferred by later collectors. Many of the boxes include images of boar hunting on the lid and, compared to other animals produced as part of the eighteenth-century enamel menagerie, many contain mild erotica either hidden on a secret inner lid or in plain view. ~
The boar's face (above) is intricately painted with each hair visible, complete with tusks and pink snout. The lid (below) is painted with a boar in a woodland scene.
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| Lid of the above box, 7.5 cm wide. |
Box 2 (part)
A detached lid (below) depicting a scene of a wild boar hunt is held at Wolverhampton Museum and Art Gallery, with two men and two dogs- the man on the horse blowing a horn. The shape of the lid is exact to the box above, so suggests, along with the imagery, that it was once attached to a boar bonbonnière.
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| A lid (mounted for display), probably from a boar bonbonnière. Held at Wolverhampton Museum, and dated at 1747-67. EM78 Suggested to be painted in Birmingham. 6.7 cm wide. EM78 |
Box 3
This is another beautifully painted boar bonbonnière with the brush stokes of each hair visible across the enamel, and expressive eyes. The lid (second image) depicts man on a horse spearing a boar which is much more crudely painted than the head itself, which suggests that the heads and lids of these boxes were painted by different people, and possibly at different workshops.
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| Enamel wild boar, c. 1760-70. Private collection. Bilston or Birmingham. |
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| Lid of the box above. H: 5cm. W: 7cm. D: 8cm. |
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| Enamel wild boar, c. 1760-1770, app. 7 by 7 cm. Private collection. |
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| Inside of lid. |
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| Lid, with erotic image. |
Box 5
This boar is painted in a similar way to boxes 3 and 4, again with a boar-hunting scene on the lid, but with a secret hidden inner lid with a flirtatious scene.
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| Enamel wild boar, c. 1760-1770, app. 7.5 cm wide. Private collection. |
Box 6
An much cruder example than the previous examples is the boar below, which is probably a later example made of a poorer quality for a wider market. The shape has also been simplified, fitting a circular lid, but still depicting a boar hunt.
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| Enamel boar, c 1780, private collection. Bilston or Birmingham. |
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| Lid of the box above. |
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| Interior of the box above. |