A tiny portrait, 1 1/8" in diameter is beautifully made of this turn of 19th century woman (c.1780-1820), her face is a mere 3/8" from chin to hairline, yet I can enlarge her to fill your screen and the loveliness of the painting transfers very well. A have no ID, but we know her to be a Noble's bride, daughter or mistress owing to the fact she's had such a lovely Masterful portrait painted, and that the trim on the fine tortoise shell snuff box is faced with 18k gold - not plating and not foil, but a thick enough plaque of it that I can see the edges of where it's adhered to another metal beneath. Additionally, I can tell she was loved, was treasured, as the box has been so well protected through 2 centuries (or tucked away) and hasn't even a bug bite to take away from its beauty or value. Full measurements are noted on the photos.
Very good to excellent condition for age and type, as noted above. A single tiny flaw to note: I can see a very tiny flashing chip on the cover glass interior, about the 7 o'clock position, visible only from certain angles of light or view.
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.