English Silver HUMIDOR? well-marked, but I can't ID

[mansfield]

My first question, is what would you call this piece. The previous owner called it a humidor, but I don't really think that was it's original purpose. The lid is engraved with a lovely roaring lion's head.
My second question concerns the marks. Appears to be a 4-leaf-clover, followed by IFS, followed by an anchor in shield.
I would appreciate any information concerning maker, age, and original use.
Thanks you

X
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[2209patrick]

A possibility might be Israel Freeman & Son. It's not their normal arm & hammer mark though.

http://www.ifs-silver.com/cgi-bin/IFSst ... fs-history

[mansfield]

Thanks for this info. It looks promising. I will do a little more research on this tomorrow. Do you have an idea of what this piece is called. It is 5 3/8" in diameter, and 4 1/2" tall.
THANKS

[2209patrick]

You're welcome. Not sure what it is. Since I'm a pipe smoker, I'm leaning toward tobacco humidor also.

Pat.