These fabulous little French boxes and trinkets were most likely purchased from the boutiques flanking the garden's promenade at the Palais Royal, and carry mystical appeal even now. Home of Cardinale Richelieu, as he guided the Nation during the childhood reign of Louis XIV, the Palace became a center of society, theatre, dining and shopping. Highest value goods of all kinds meant for only the very wealthy, and trinkets to delight. The French tortoise shell caskets are not like those produced by any others, and leave the thin steamed shell semi-translucent and mounted into ormolu framework as you see here. No veneer crafted on wood, just shell. For this reason, they were fragile, and over time the shell has dried, forming hairline cracks and some losses. This one does have a section missing on the back upper half (visible for review in our photos). There is a piece saved in the casket beneath one scent bottle, but it is not the complete loss. I've had this one for decades. Time to downsize my own collections.
Very good for age and type, (c.1810-30) with the one nod to a missing piece on back of lid. The tiny perfume bottles have no breaks, but they also miss their tiny glass stoppers. Both caps work fine, hinge and close properly. A great tiny treasure to display, perfume collectors' dream find. Displays very pretty!
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.
