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Move the pointer across the plate for a magnified crop, as you would run a loupe over the surface in the viewing room. Using a keyboard, step between the named details instead.
Further plates
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Detail.
Continental
Circa 1770
A gold-mounted hardstone snuff box
Agate with gold mounts
Length 3 in. (7.6 cm)
Bidding on lot 31
Passed
The lot did not reach its reserve and was not sold. The highest bid was $6,500, against an estimate of $8,000 – 12,000. Bidding is closed and no bid control is offered.
A reserve is the confidential minimum below which the seller has instructed the house not to sell. It may never exceed the low estimate. Where a lot passes, the department will usually approach the underbidder after the sale; a lot that passes is not a lot that has failed, it is a lot that has not yet met its price.
Enquire about this lotDemonstration site. Hammer & Co is a fictional auction house; every lot, estimate, bid, result and provenance chain on this site is invented for the purpose of showing the design. No bid placed here is a real bid and nothing here is offered for sale.
Catalogue note
The banded agate cover within a chased gold cagework mount. Unmarked.
Condition report
Good Reported by Rosalind Achebe on August 5, 2026
A stable hairline to the base panel, old. The hinge is sound. Some wear to the gilding of the mount at the thumbpiece.
A condition report is an opinion, honestly held, given as a courtesy and not a warranty. It is not a substitute for examining the lot yourself, and the absence of a reference to a defect does not imply that the lot is free from it. Every lot is sold as is.
Provenance
- to date Property of a gentleman.
Every provenance chain on this demonstration site is invented. No real collection, sale or ownership history is described.
The bidding ladder
Bids step by a published ladder, not a percentage. At $6,500 the step is $500, so the next admissible bid is $7,000. The auctioneer may vary the increment at their discretion.
| Bid at | Increment |
|---|---|
| $0 – $199 | $10 |
| $200 – $499 | $25 |
| $500 – $999 | $50 |
| $1,000 – $1,999 | $100 |
| $2,000 – $4,999 | $250 |
| $5,000 – $9,999 | $500 |
| $10,000 – $19,999 | $1,000 |
| $20,000 – $49,999 | $2,000 |
| $50,000 – $99,999 | $5,000 |
| $100,000 – $199,999 | $10,000 |
| $200,000 – $499,999 | $20,000 |
| $500,000 – $999,999 | $50,000 |
| $1,000,000 and above | $100,000 |
