Such a superb find, it is very rare to acquire children's portrait miniatures, and all the more so mounted on such an elegant late 1700s to very earliest 1800s snuff box. The young boy is not identified, but the elegance of the snuff box tells us something of his position in life. The mat and the pique work on this one are in 18k gold, typical of the very best of the French snuff boxes. A rather unique decorative style, the outer box is beautifully pressed with a bas relief motif throughout. Inner lining is fine chocolate to cognac mottled tortoise shell and remains in fine condition. The painting is superb, and undamaged, but the original convex cover glass has a little roughness to the top which, under photo lights, does slightly interfere. Not as much in the hand as under the reflection of those lights, however. He's wonderful, looks to be somewhere between 9 - 12 years of age. Blue eyes and curly dark blond hair, a handsome lad. His face is only 1/2" from chin to hairline - amazing these artists could get so much into such a tiny portrait, isn't it.
Very good to excellent condition throughout! One or two 18k gold pique rounds lost to the centuries, but the bulk of the work remains. A light surface abrasion on the cover glass, a perfectionist would have that cover glass polished by a skilled watch maker. The painting is undamaged, very nicely accomplished. Overall, a Museum quality snuff. No chips or breaks inside or out. RARE portrait of a child. Full measurements are noted on the photos.
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.
