A petit French memento of a catholic upbringing in France, 19th century (Napoleon III, likely) traditional gift upon the confirmation, this one is just 2 1/2" long. Beautifully preserved and appears to have never been used, it would have been intended as the special little purse into which a child's offerings would be put, then taken to deposit at church. Most of these old ones have a bit of a tattered interior, so it's rare to find one in such fine condition within as well as the rather deep carved outer shell. Sterling silver hinged clasp and also compartmented interior with clasp are fully in place. Hinged back.
Very good to excellent condition throughout, with a superb silk interior showing no real use or damage. Photos show it well from all angles. I don't see even as much as a bug bite to report.
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.
