Rare Scottish George III Corporation Treasury Box

Description

Rare Scottish George III corporation treasury box, dated 1772, of caddy form, the lid with cove molded edge, the front with polychrome decoration commemorating the Edinburgh Corporation of Comb Makers, with the company motto “With a steady, steady hand, we cut a hundred into one” painted in a banner, with a ribbon tied depiction of an elephant and a steer – two of the sources of comb making materials; ivory and horn, on either side of a central panel with a box tree over a tortoise, the other two sources of comb material; tortoise shell and boxwood. The chest has two locks, intended for two office holders of the corporation who would both need to be present in order to unlock, (although curiously one lock has been cut open, suggesting one keeper lost his key, or that one keeper was a thief!). According to Wikipedia, “One of the most important items of the incorporation would have been the trades’ boxes in which their funds were kept. The boxes would be decorated with emblems or engravings of the incorporation. For security the boxes would often be held by someone who didn’t have a key. Over time boxmaster became an alternative name for a treasurer.”
Unlike England’s livery companies or trade guilds, the Scots had a slightly different system which distinguished between merchants and craftspeople. The Corporations operated in much the same way, providing quality control, trade protection, pensions, insurance and other functions including loans. The Corporations formed what became known as the Convenery of Trades of Edinburgh, an umbrella body that still exists and which looks after the interests of all the Incorporated Trades of the burgh.