A beautiful 3" diameter lathe-turned tortoise shell snuff box, 18k gold mat or mount, convex cover glass and a pencil drawing of a beautiful woman. I do believe this is either a drawing of Marie-Antoinette, or certainly of one of her favorites, c.1770-80. It was more common in 1700s to do profile drawings, portraits. It is possible it might be a souvenir either before M-A was beheaded, or a bit later on. I have not taken it out of its mount. The 18k gold mat is relatively thin, and I fear I would damage it if I try to remove. perhaps more clues would be held within. I have a BA in Drawing and Printmaking, and with a loupe, I am quite certain it is not a print and is a drawing. Slight reflective surface on thicker/harder press with the pencil leans to graphite and not to intaglio surface. Additionally, the 18k acid-tested mat would also suggest a finer piece than might be used on print. Measurements are noted on the photos.
Very good to excellent for age and type, you can see that the inner lip of the lower half of the snuff box does have 3 chips. The outer box has a abrasion or two and a few small bug bites. I've shown it from all angles of view for your full inspection. The round cut paper upon which she is drawn is very precise, has slipped or shrunken very slightly in place revealing a tiny bit of edge. It would be 100% rag handmade and pressed paper, and this is quite consistent. An old beauty from my collections.
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.
