Mauchline Ware Jewellery Box with Burns Cottage, c. 1890

A sycamore jewellery box with an engraving of Burns‘ Cottage at Alloway, Ayrshire, including the caption ‘Bought in the Monument’ and a verse from Robert Burns’ ‘Rantin‘ Rovin‘ Robin’;

“The gossip keekit in his loof,
Quo‘ she, "Wha lives will see the proof,
This waly boy will be nae coof,
I think we‘ll ca‘ him Robin."

The box is lined in padded navy velvet and is in good condition with some rubbing to the edges and a circular impress on the top.

The town of Mauchline in East Ayrshire became synonymous with souvenirs made from sycamore wood and decorated with famous local landmarks from around Britain. Although the origin probably lies with Charles Stiven (1753-1820) of Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire, it was two Mauchline brothers, William and Andrew Smith, who became the prime producers from 1825. At its peak in the 1860s, over 400 people were involved in the manufacture of Mauchline ware and the high quality souvenirs were despatched to all parts of the British Isles, Europe, North and South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.