The brilliant gadrooned outer mat on this stunning early 1800s snuff box does test 18k gold, and the portrait is stunning enough to have warranted this quality setting. The beautiful young woman in her Empire gown with bodice buckle also wears a fashionable Empire tiara beset with pearls to match her necklace and earrings. A superb portrait, she has a gentleness to her slight smile that radiates from her blue eyes, as if captured just in a moment. Beautifully painted, it is without artist's signature unless it can be found on the rim or within. I didn't not remove this one from the superb 200 + year old tortoise shell box. Full measurements noted on the photos.
Very good to excellent condition for age and type. So well protected beneath original convex cover glass, our photos show very slight distortion of the convex glass, and also some reflective glare of the photo lighting. Likewise, you will see miniscule interior dust which you won't even see with a loupe - such is the nature of photography lighting - catches any particle and reflects white. The glass is really very clean, and is undamaged. I can see only a single flaw, and it is a slight roughness along the inner thin lip which forms the closure, a small bug bite - marked with an 'x' to draw your eye to it. Along the exterior of sides of box, another couple small bug bites on close inspection. No cracks, no chips, no other flaws to note.
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.
