'St.Paul's Cathedral' Sweet Basket, 1847

This is a great example of a rare "castle top" silver sweet basket. The scene depicted to the centre is an embossed view of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. The scene is well detailed and remains in crisp condition. The border of the round dish is profusely embossed with flowers in typical high-Victorian naturalistic taste and the swing handle is similarly decorated with a vacant cartouche to the middle. The hallmarks are clearly stamped to the centre and the basket is in excellent condition with none of the condition issues normally associated with this type of piece (i.e. splits, holes, repairs etc).

The "castle top" series were a group of high-end souvenirs bought by wealthy tourists on their travels around the UK, following the advent of the railways. They generally take the form of boxes (snuff boxes, vinaigrettes and card cases) and depict scenes of a popular landmarks and buildings. Baskets are much less commonly found and this is the first example depicting St. Paul's that we have encountered.

St Paul's Cathedral sits on the highest point of the City of London and the present building is reckoned to be London's fifth St Paul's Cathedral. The fourth St. Paul’s was burned down during the Great Fire of London in 1666. The present building is built of Portland Stone and was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. The first stone was laid in 1677 and the cathedral was completed in 1708. The St Paul's Cathedral is one of London's most visited sights and is home to the tombs of some of Britain’s most famous people: Nelson, Duke of Wellington, Winston Churchill, Florence Nightingale and JMW Turner. It was also used for the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.

The scene depicted on the card case shows the Great West Door (left-hand side of photo) with the West End Clock Tower. To the back is the Great Dome.