I have an error on my photos. The gold tests 24k on this elegant snuff, bot stars, pique and that bezel mount around the portrait.
Oh, you must know by now I have been a snuff box and portrait miniature collector for decades. And this? An exceptional item, museum quality, from the time of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, likely one of their courtiers, a 'naughty, memento painted for a lover, her bodice undone and flowers tucked between her breasts. The portrait is intimate and gorgeous, though unsigned. The piece has been well-treasured for 250 years give or take 10, and survives today with only the tiniest signs of age. Yet, fully 12 generations ago she was a living woman, loved, protected in her youth by the original slightly convex cover glass and 24k gold mount upon a Vernis Martin snuff box, masterpiece! Inlaid with stars and diamonds of 24k gold, scrolling and edging of same. And those shimmering colorful bits? Abalone.
Very good to excellent condition for age and type. I've shown it from all angles so you can see that a few of those tiny precious bits have been lost to the centuries but not many. And there are no cracks to diminish the beauty or value of the snuff box, either. One very tiny rim nip (marked with 'x') on the inner lip. Fully lined in lathe-formed shell, typical. Just stunning! When viewing our greatly enlarged photos, consider that her face is only 5/8" from chin to hairline. Quite amazing throughout, this!
