This is a rare one - a kiln-fired enamel plaque portrait miniature with gold mount as cartouche to a fine oval tortoise shell snuff or patch box. The woman's fashion puts her in the Louis XV to XVI era, but I think it was created as late as c.1830s-40s, in the Louis XVIII era, where old court dress was revived somewhat. The enamel work is exquisite. Mounted in gold, I did not test but think it to be a lower karat alloy. The box is in beautiful condition for display. Measurements are noted on photos.
Very good to excellent throughout, age and type considered. The enamel is superb, no chips or hairlines which typically impact the old kiln-fired enamels. Convex copper, likely, beneath the enamel. I did not dismount it, nor did I acid test the mounting - I hate to have to scrape it on a visible surface. I bought this one as higher karat gold, but I think it would test 10-12k, not 18k. The box is entirely tortoise shell and remains in very nice condition. Loose top and bottom, no hinge, I can point out and you can see from images, there are some faint surface abrasions on the top in angles of light. They are always magnified in size and attention by the digital camera and photography lighting, however. Excellent, snuff or possibly small bonbon or confectioner's box in its time. Found in France.
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.
