This is a spectacular late 1700s to perhaps as late as 1810 traveler's scent caddy. Complete and all original, you see it with the original 4 mouth-blown crystal bottles and their original stoppers, and attended by the original sterling silver funnel. The outer box is a work of cabinet maker's art, and is one of the finest you'll ever see. The smooth jointing, the beautiful French Empire pale wood with darker wood corner trim and key escutcheon. Simple elegance.
A paper lined interior with gold embossed panels and trim, in very good condition for age. The one flaw to disclose is, sadly, a hold in bottom of one of the 4 scent bottles. Just in from Paris. Napoleonic era, give or take 10 years. Very good to excellent condition for age and type. The one glaring flaw to note is the hole in bottom of one bottle, and I've noted it on the enlarged photos, too. The others are all in fine form, without much to report - a roughness or small nip on a stopper perhaps. The caddy is a work of simplicity of form, elegance of cabinetry maker's art. Likely a gentleman's scent caddy, it has clean lines and light/dark finish managed by use of darker wood pencil edging and escutcheon. I have no working key at listing time, but we'll continue to try to match one from our box of spares and will annotate if so. Priced without key, however.
