Oval turtle-shell box mounted in gold and decorated on the lid with a scene of Bellona and a seated military commander in Roman dress, probably Germany, 1740-65

Oval turtle-shell box mounted in gold, overlaid with chased gold and decorated with gold piqué work. On the lid a scene of Bellona displaying the plan of a fortification to a seated military commander in Roman dress holding a grenade in his left hand and resting his right hand on his sword.

In the background to the viewer's left are armourers working on anvils and to the right a castle or fortified town on top of a rocky cliff. This large box is one of the finest gold-mounted turtle-shell boxes known from the eighteenth century. The box, which was probably made in Germany, may have been owned by, or a presentation to, a soldier who took part in the campaigns fought in Europe in the middle decades of the eighteenth century, most notably the Seven Years War (1757-63).

The style of the chasing, the form of the rococo ornament, and perhaps also the subject, suggest that the box was made in Germany.