567 - Travelling Casket in Wood with Compartments, Metal Containers and Mirror in the Lid

Travelling Casket in Wood with Compartments, Metal Containers and Mirror in the Lid Wood, fitted internally with metal containers. Rectangular travelling casket with a flat lid; on each short side a moveable metal swing handle, two hinges at the back, at the front a shield-shaped escutcheon with lock and above it a small button as a lid catch, the key is missing. The inside of the lid with a rectangular mirror framed by a light wooden board with a shaped fretted edge. The interior is divided by fixed partitions into compartments of different sizes. In each corner sits a round metal container with a lid, the lids worked differently, of one container only the lid survives. The rectangular compartments are closed with veneered wooden covers with light knobs; three recesses are lined with velvet. Condition commensurate with age, rubbed. 35x23.5x8.5 cm (LxWxH) Travelling necessaires of this construction belonged to the traveller's equipment from the late 18th to the early 20th century and held toilet implements, flacons and writing utensils. The fixed division into compartments with precisely fitting containers was intended to prevent the contents from being thrown into disorder on poor roads; the mirror in the lid at the same time made the casket into a portable dressing table. Completely preserved sets are rare, since the fittings were lost separately.