LONDON.- A rare Louis XV vari-coloured gold and enameled snuff box was sold for £158,500 at Bonhams Fine Silver and Gold Boxes sale in London yesterday (18 June). It had been estimated at £100,000-150,000.

The box, which was made in Paris in 1771 by Jean-Joseph Barrière, was one of several lots from the collection of Barbara and Arnold Burton which together made over £450,000. Arnold Burton was the youngest son of Sir Montague Burton, the founder of the famous clothing empire. .

The sale also included an important Louis XVI silver soup tureen made in 1779 by Robert-Joseph Auguste, the most highly regarded silversmith of his day. It sold for £128,500. A pair of silver vegetable dishes by the same maker and used by the Russian Empress, Catherine the Great made £37,500.

Bonhams Head of Silver, Michael Moorcroft said, “ We were delighted to be able to offer so many fine pieces from the Burton collection and the high prices achieved are a testament to Barbara and Arnold’s taste and discrimination.”