The artistry on display here would be that of a Master working in various wood veneers, along with ebony and ivory, a museum quality parquet work of art, indeed. Dating early 1800s, it survives in remarkably compete form, where so many others are missing substantial tiny cuts of the decorative pieces of wood, etc.. I will admit that I have been so enamored with the top and sides of this one in my displays, I had forgotten entirely how stunning is the bottom. Turning it upside down, you gasp again at the brilliance of the patterning and of the work. Opens smoothly to reveal the perfect interior of fine tortoise shell. A favorite among my own collections! Full measurements on our photos.
Very good to excellent for age and type, I can easily locate one flaw, that 7/8" edging on the bottom of the snuff box. Far less a flaw can be seen under careful inspection of that bottom, where a single diamond-shaped piece has gone missing over the 200 or so years since it was created. I've marked each with white Xs for your review. The tortoise shell interior is fully intact, no chips on rim, and just beautiful in color ranging from cognac to chocolate. Exquisite!
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.
