The lid of the box is inscribed The laboring bee that sucks of me such sweet, shows unto man, what things for him are meet.
Roundels such as this – used at the end of dinner for desserts and wordy entertainment – appear to have become widespread across society. Indeed, enough for John Donne to joke in 1669 that: “[Aesop’s] fables and fruit-trenchers teach as much.”
This set of 12, acquired from New York dealer James Robinson in 1987, sold at $16,000 (£12,300).