Marie-Antoinette's favorite decorative style, the layering of oil paint and varnish developed by the Brothers Martin, and referred to simply as "Vernis Martin" gained fame in the mid to late 1700s and then resurged 100 years later as French fashion seems to do. I suspect this very nice snuff box or larger patch box is from the revival period, 1800s, but it also has some indications of being earlier. I have to give that century broad timeframe for this one. Elaborate painting, portraits in miniature, very much in the manner of the Romantic Era, c.1750-70s, an outdoor group of several figures. Beautifully crafted and not much loss to the painting. Full measurements noted on the photos.
Very good to excellent condition for age and type, I can see a small chip in upper right corner fo the front panel/cover, small and innocuous but pointed out for your review. Very little loss of the old oil painting throughout. Photos show it well. No cracks nor hairlines. Beautifully hand painted throughout.
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.
