Lot 985
A GEORGE II SILVER-MOUNTED OAK SNUFF BOX
circular with a circular plaque on the cover, engraved with a three-masted man-o-war & the inscriptions "Centurion G: Anson Praef", the sides inscribed "Altera quae vehat Argo 1740 Delectos Heroas", gilt interior, maker's mark only (struck twice), possibly by Peter Werritzer (Grimwade No. 3756), London c.1745; 2.5" (6.4 cms) diameter
*This box may have been made to celebrate George Anson's triumphant return to England aboard the Centurion with plundered Spanish treasure totalling £500,000. He landed back in London on 15th June 1744 after leaving in 1740 to attack the Spanish on the Pacific coast of Latin America, during this period he suffered the loss of five of his squadron of six ships and the lives of over six hundred men.
