This is a stunning Art Nouveau Sterling Silver & Enamel matchbook holder, almost certainly from a design by Archibald Knox, made by W.H.Haseler & fully hallmarked for Birmingham 1905.

In 1901, W.H.Haseler were merged with Liberty & Co under the joint trade name of Cymric Ltd, & manufactured the 'cymric' range of silverware for Liberty's alongside their own silverware. More information on W.H.Haseler can be found in the book "The designs of Archibald Knox for Liberty & Co" by Adrian J Tilbrook.

The holder has a sprung hinge, an interior silver bar (to secure a match book, etc), & each side of the holder has opposing 'lifts' to help opening.

The front of the holder has two identical repousse columns of an organic, flowing twisted stem, with a stylised square leaf at the bottom & a little tendril at the top. The top & bottom of the stem have been decorated in a lovely Amber / Orange through Green Enamel.

The rear of the holder is plain.

The holder is fully hallmarked to the interior with the makers mark 'W.H.H' (for William H Haseler), the anchor (Birmingham), the lion passant (925 sterling), & the date letter 'f' (1905 - 06). The lion passant & the date letter are repeated on the opposite leaf.

Condition: the top and bottom of the repousse 'stem' are lightly rubbed (at the leaf & tendril), & there is a little enamel loss, particularly at the bottom of the stems (the L/H stem has lost most of the Amber, & there is a little Green enamel missing from the R/H bottom stem). Please see the Highly Magnified photographs. The rest of the case & the sprung hinge are excellent.

The case measures approx 2 3/4" long by 2" wide (approx 6.8 cm x 5 cm).

The holder weighs 33.3 g, 1.17 oz, or 1.07 Troy.

Overall, a simply stunning & rare Art Nouveau Silver & Enamel case, instantly recognisable as the design of Archibald Knox, & in great condition for it's 103 years (particularly given that the enamelling is rather shallow due to the design).