Watch List notes:

Bottom half of a small, ornate, gold snuff box with embossed hunting-scene pattern. 47.88 grams, 2-1/4" x 1-3/4" x 1". This fabulous artifact is one of the most ornate and eye-catching small artifacts we have ever handled, clearly a piece of work in its own time (along the lines of a Faberge egg) and still beautifully preserved. The top half (lid) permanently resides in the collection of the State of Florida, as it was found earlier and divided to the State in 1994. The whole artifact was basically an oval box with hinged, flat lid and pedestal-like base, all in 1 mm-thick cast gold, with artwork all over (even on the top of the lid and inside the bottom of the base) depicting men on horses and standing with dogs hunting what appear to be fat bears with long, narrow snouts, the deeply embossed pattern now home to small bits of encrustation but the gold still gleaming as brightly as the day it was made. We encourage the high bidder to take this invaluable treasure to the Museum of Florida History in Tallahassee and rejoin it with its lid--even if just for a moment--and bask in the importance of owning a truly museum-worthy artifact. Recovered from: Spanish 1715 Fleet, east coast of Florida

Estimate: $25000