Georgian era in England, but Louis XVI in France where this was made. Entirely hand crafted, it is of opaque blond tortoise shell with intricate pique and inlays of silver, gold, brass and abalone shell. I will tell you that this one is far more beautiful in person. We have a very gray cloudy week of weather which always makes photography not quite hit the mark, and I apologize. Perhaps better photos later on. It is bright and pale, but opaque as you can see. Some of the old snuffs of the era were opaque chocolate colored tortoise shell, some were semi-transparent blond tortoise shell, and those like this one, have very high appeal. Photos are showing it dark, all but the group photo at the end. Look to it for the proper color. Measurements noted on the photos, but it is 2 1/2" in diameter and 1" in height, closed.
Very good to excellent condition, from my own collections of a long lifetime. I find no pique or inlay work missing nor lifted. As noted, a bit difficult to capture the lighting this week. There is a single very small imperfection on the inner lip, a slightly bug-nipped spot on inner top rim, which is more to be felt with a fingertip than seen with the eye. It does not show when the lid is in place.
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.
