This is an extremely rare, museum quality set of Victorian Silver curling tongs & fitted Silver heater box, by the renowned silversmith Charles James Fox, & fully hallmarked for London 1898.

The set is of the highest quality, & has been made of very heavy gauge Silver, the total weight being almost 16 Troy Oz.

The hinged box is rectangular in form, with every surface (inc the base) having a heavy & raised, scrolling floral & foliate design, with the top having a vacant, circular cartouche.

The box is opened via a sprung push button to reveal a fully Gilded interior.

The interior lid of the box contains a pair of hinged, folding stands, on which the tongs would rest whilst being heated.

The interior base of the box contains an open compartment in which the folded tongs sit, & a built in double spirit burner with the original wicks, & the original cover which is secured by a large, central, screw fit button.

The folding tongs have hallmarked Silver handles in the same raised floral & foliate design as the box, with one handle having a circular, vacant cartouche. The arms of the tongs are of metal, with one arm being cylindrical, & the other being semi-circular & concave.

The set is fully hallmarked in four places, The lid & the base of the heater box are hallmarked to the exterior with the makers mark 'CJF'(Charles James Fox), the Lion Passant (925 Sterling), the Leopards Head (London), & the date letter 'c' (1898 - 99). Each handle of the tongs carry the Lion Passant, the Leopards Head, & the date letter.

The closed box measures approx 4 1/2" in length, 2" wide, & 2" high (11.5 cm x 5.2 cm x 5.2 cm), & the extended tongs measure approx 7 3/4" (20 cm).

The total weight of the box & tongs is 494.8 g, 17.45 oz, or 15.91 Troy, but please take note that the weight includes the metal arms of the tongs & the built in spirit heater (which due to it's use, is almost certainly Gilded brass etc).

Condition is Excellent for it's 110 years, with no dents or repairs.

Overall, a truly stunning piece of Victorian history, extremely rare to find such a high quality complete set, particularly in this condition (the only other similar set that we could find can be found as a 'Featured Piece' in Replacements Ltd museum).