Antique French 18K Gold Cartouche, c.1838 Tortoise Shell Table Snuff Box - EC

Amazing condition for a snuff box this old, the one you see here has only a couple of the tiniest bug nips (more to be felt than seen) and is otherwise immaculate. The French gold marks guarantee or control for 1838 Paris is our proof of both origin and age, and the item is just in from Paris and it's well over 150 years of age. Fine chocolate shell with cognac veining, a stunning piece for any collection. This is a good sized table snuff, has no scent to it at all, of course, even though it might once have held snuff, and could be the most elegant box for some of your jewelry - perhaps at bedside table, or just to add to your display of fabulous antique shell boxes and caddies. A very fine one, the shell has been scalloped along the back, near the hinge. This is not a flaw - it's a decorative touch.

Very good to excellent for age, it does have a couple of tiny bug bites, but nothing to detract from either value or enjoyment of this elegant museum-quality box. A superb piece! One just wonders to whom it might have originally belonged. Certainly stories it could tell us!

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.