Something special here, the painting is by the artist who painted for TAHAN goods, boxes c. 1850-70s, France. TAHAN is the firm at the apex of purveyors of finest quality goods in 19th century Paris. I can't prove it, but I am certain this 18k gold trimmed little beauty came from TAHAN, as well. Superb chocolate tortoise shell with a trace of cognac here or there, it would have been the prettiest of all the Napoleon III era coin purses to tempt this one Grand Tour traveler. It's obvious it was something special, and not ever put to use. Interior's pleated silk sectioned lining shows little if any wear and is in quite remarkable condition. The inlaid gold stringing is even engraved - such attention to fine detail!
Very good to excellent condition for age and type, no damage to the cover glass nor the little perfect painting of a colorful bouquet of flowers. Its only detraction should be a couple of bug bites along edge, visible in our greatly enlarged photos. You have to really look close if it's in hand, to find them. Also a little deterioration to the old leather baffles. One wouldn't want to expand those too much for fear of splitting. It's a display piece, of course - fit for museum. Such a little beauty.
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.
