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The mystery of provenance of Duchess of Teck's Amethyst Box
Posted by Beth on December 13, 2023, 4:22 pm
In her will Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester bequeathed an amethyst box (which she called a bon bon box) to Princess Mary of Cambridge, mother of Queen Mary.
Mary, Duchess of Gloucester described the box as having been made of the root of an amethyst with diamonds & rubies on the lip of the box.
I never expected to see an image of the box but it is in the Royal Collection having eventually come into the possession of Queen Mary.
The mystery arises because Queen Mary, after perusing the sales catalogue of items belonging to Queen Charlotte, which were auctioned on 18 May 1819, believed that the description of a snuff box matched that bequeathed by Mary, Duchess of Gloucester to Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck.
The descriptions of both items are slightly different, which is probably why the Royal Collection site commented that Queen Mary was probably optimistic in her conclusion.
In addition, the Duchess of Gloucester in her will gave provenances for many items. She stated that the box she gave to Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck had belonged to her sister, Princess Sophia.
I was very taken with the image of the little box. Because the Duchess of Gloucester had described it as a bon bon box, I had assumed it was a larger item. The size of this little gem suggests that the Royal Collection site's description of the the box as a snuff box is more accurate.
Queen Mary's passion for objects owned by her great-grandmother Queen Charlotte
Much enjoyed this Beth. Mary, Dss of Gloucester was Geo III & Queen Charlotte's last surviving child. Her collections included items inherited from her mother and her childless sisters. Most of these were bequeathed to her nieces and nephews. Jane, Lady Roberts (former Royal Librarian and wife of Hugh Roberts) wrote: "Together with several items of jewellery Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge....received the amethyst box which had been Princess Sophia's". Mary Adelaide's daughter Queen Mary (who later became the owner of Mary Gloucester's pearl & diamond stomacher) had a great passion for collecting objects connected to Queen Charlotte and purchased a large number of such items as they became available. She also received many as gifts from friends and family. One from Lady Mount Stephens was Queen Charlotte's note book with its case of tortoiseshell, gold, and diamonds.
Queen Mary never lost interest even in old age, and in 1951 two years before her death purchased from George 2nd Marquess of Cambridge (her nephew), Queen Charlotte's Jewel Cabinet which had been owned by Pss Mary Dss of Gloucester and passed down to Pss Mary Adelaide. See RCT article link below and also YouTube video where its interesting to see how Queen Charlotte's jewels were secured in 1762. Notice the compartment where her very valuable diamond stomacher was stored. https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/publications/george-iii-and-queen-charlotte/jewel-cabinet
on December 13, 2023, 4:22 pm
