A most precious memento of the French Revolution, this 3-tier snuff or patch or memorial box has a false bottom with a screw-on holder of a superb French portrait miniature painted in c.1787 very likely as a token of love in event of his marriage. Hand written in quill pen on a thin paper attached to the other inner compartment below the snuff box we have a rather detailed family history and the identity of this French Revolutionary soldier or officer, Emmanuel de Mainbourg (if I'm correct). I did once do a cursory search to see if I could find this gentleman's history, but didn't spend enough time, and so the mystery and history is yours to find. Also noted, the name of the woman he married. The box is 18th century hand crafted in ivory, lined in gold foil and topped with a cartouche of 18k gold monogram housed beneath the old original convex cover glass and framed in with an 18k gold-faced mount, set recessed into the box's lid. A precious museum quality piece. Full measurements noted on the photos.
Very good to excellent condition throughout, with one chip on the side panel of the lid (see images/detail) and a couple of fine tight hairlines which are a factor of age of the old ivory as it shrinks. Also evidence of the very slight shrinkage of age, the bottom section with the portrait mounted, which is created with fine screw-on rim, will not hold tightly in place into the threads so care must be taken not to accidentally drop it. A superb and early piece - one would expect to see it in a Museum, perhaps the Musee d' la Histoire de France, in the Marais, Paris, where one can find such aged and historical treasures.
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.
