From my own lifetime collections, a rare beauty, this 18th century to early 19th century elaborately engraved monogram on the matrix, combined with an ornate form in Dieppe hand carved ivory handle. More and more collectors searching out these Old World elegant sceau, and here this one was in a crate of my own longtime collections, comparable I'm finding now have sold well above 1500 GBP, some now priced above 2500 GBP, roughly $3800, US, which sort of amazes me. I digress. Full measurements noted in the photos. Final images show it alongside others of my collection which are also going up for sale now, all sold separately**.
Very good to excellent condition for age and type. There are no chips to the tiny gadroon twists that drape and swirl the sides, I see the typical very very fine aging line from shrinkage of the natural material. A rectangular matrix with attractive rounded corners, and splendidly engraved and prominent M, and what I think translates to E and G laced behind the M. The matrix is clean and is crafted in steel.
**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.
