Truly the very best of these from my many decades of collecting, this is a mid-late 1700s (18th century) etui or necessaire in very complete form. The inner box is made of 250+ year old ivory which is veneered in pearlescent shimmer of mother of pearl that is elaborately inlayed with ornamental marquetry in both silver and gold. Heavy materials make it quite surprisingly heavy in hand, even without its original 3 scent bottles or flasks, flacon, which is what I feel quite certain once filled its interior compartments. One can see a carved recess in 3 places on the interior lid, each of which would be stabilizers for the rounded stoppers of the bottles. The 2 compartment dividers slide out in case you wish to change the intended use. More like a beautiful piece of jewelry, almost, than a box. Full measurements noted on photos.
Very good to excellent condition for age and type, of all of these we've ever found or seen, this one shows the least loss or disruption. It is made of ivory (interior) veneered with slabs of mother of pearl, and I see 2 minuscule flash chips which are actually on the interior edge/corner of the pearl slabs so certainly not easy to see, disappear in display. If it once had 3 perfume bottles, they have been lost. The interior of each of the 3 compartments would hold a square or round bottle slightly larger than 1/2", up to 2 1/4" tall. I've also considered it may have had a wax seal, sealing wax and a single flask inkwell.
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. (
