modelled as an orchestra of frogs, each playing a different instrument including a clarinet, a flute, a drum, a ukulele, a cello and a trombone, all sitting on silver lily pads.
Maker’s mark for Samuel Jacob
Design patent no.: 353030
Presented in their original brown leather presentation case with purple velvet interior, the lid satin stamped in gold ‘Wilson & Sharp, Goldsmiths, silversmiths and watchmakers, 139 Princes Street, Edinburgh.’
Lewis Caroll’s famous book ‘Alice in Wonderland’ was published in 1865. The book tells the tale of a young girl who enters a magical world where animals behave like humans; a place where rabbits not only talk, but wear waistcoats and drink tea. The charming absurdity of these characters seized the public’s imagination and created a fascination with anthropomorphised animal subjects in the decorative arts.
The influence of Japanese art, such as netsuke and woodblock prints, is also unmistakable as they often depicted frogs in humorous, anthropomorphised attitudes. For example the watercolour attributed to Kawanabe Kyosai of dancing frogs playing a drum and samisen, which the British Museum acquired in 1881 (1881,1210,0.1879).