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Antique French 18th Century Intaglio Portrait Miniature on Superb Burl and Tortoise Shell Snuff Box
Antique French 18th Century Intaglio Portrait Miniature on Superb Burl and Tortoise Shell Snuff Box
Antique French 18th Century Intaglio Portrait Miniature on Superb Burl and Tortoise Shell Snuff Box
Antique French 18th Century Intaglio Portrait Miniature on Superb Burl and Tortoise Shell Snuff Box
Antique French 18th Century Intaglio Portrait Miniature on Superb Burl and Tortoise Shell Snuff Box
Antique French 18th Century Intaglio Portrait Miniature on Superb Burl and Tortoise Shell Snuff Box
Antique French 18th Century Intaglio Portrait Miniature on Superb Burl and Tortoise Shell Snuff Box
Antique French 18th Century Intaglio Portrait Miniature on Superb Burl and Tortoise Shell Snuff Box
Antique French 18th Century Intaglio Portrait Miniature on Superb Burl and Tortoise Shell Snuff Box
Antique French 18th Century Intaglio Portrait Miniature on Superb Burl and Tortoise Shell Snuff Box

Antique French 18th Century Intaglio Portrait Miniature on Superb Burl and Tortoise Shell Snuff Box

$995.00 $696.50
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Physionotrace is the French word applicable for profile likeness made by projection and light, then tracing the profile and completing the engraving of a person. It is a manner used in 18th century and earlier to capture a very good likeness which can be made in multiples (a copper plate intaglio, each print pulled by hand). This important engraving, designed by FOUQUET engraved by CHRETIEN, late 18th century
is a portrait of a notable gentleman, Monsieur Pierre Lacoste (annotations)
inscription in translation: "Dess. p. Fouquet grave. p. Christian. inv. of the physionotrace rue St honoré vis. notice. the oratory on the 2nd floor in Pa".  Execution of great finesse Beautiful quality and mounted well upon a stunning burl snuff box with fine tortoise shell interior. 
Very good to excellent state of conservation for age and type, some marks on the edges of the intaglio (see photos), and a box of exceptional beauty and condition, almost no signs of age. Aperture rim is also tortoise shell. Our photos show it well from all angles. Larger than most 18th century snuffs, it would have been considered a table snuff in its time. 

IMPORTANT NOTE regarding antique tortoise shell or ivory: We are great supporters of protection for endangered species in our modern world. We never buy or sell anything 100 years or newer; we donate to anti-poaching organizations; we don't hunt; we conserve in ways that impact global warming (we're totally solar at home), knowing those measures also protect the animals in the wild today. We also recognize the vast cultural history we preserve with our care and reverence for these antique objects, and agree with CITES that objects over 100 years of age have nothing whatsoever to do with species depletion in our current world. 

Our offering exceeds the age limitation of "more than 100 years of age", and is well within the exemption for CITES regulation. If imported, met the CITES regulation. This item will be handled and shipped from our Utah business, and is not available for shipment internationally, nor within the USA to California, NY, Nevada, Hawaii, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington if it contains ivory, sorry. Please see our small print for more details. 

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