Elegant antique French Napoleon III or Victorian era 11 5/8" jewelry or desk box, a mixture of ebony/ebonized & richly burled veneers with boulle style brass & mother of pearl inlays, cream moire silk lined interior and working lock with key! This about the size of the gaming boxes that we see but entirely lined inside with a pale moire silk or satin that has all of the appearances of being original. Beautiful exterior, with the burled amboyna framed in a very Napoleon III black, a mixture of brass 'stars' and mother of pearl dots framing the outer and set in the boulle style cartouche. Visually impressive!
Very good condition, age considered. The most obvious flaw is that the lid has a very subtle 'lift' to the lid front and back though it's really only obvious when viewed from the sides. As noted, all hardware and lock, etc. are original and the lock works with what looks like the original old skeleton key. Some slight stains or spots to the interior lining. See images for all measurements.
