Always fun and appealing, these early to mid-1800s whimsical mother of pearl mechanical "egg" etui would have initially come from boutiques of the old Palais Royal, and upperclass souvenir and goods shops along rue d' l'Opera, other gathering places. Some were fitted with several scent bottles, some with sewing sets as you see here - some with both as in this one's case. When closed, it reveals the brilliant pearlescent shimmer of colors of natural pearl, even the alabaster base is accented by shells as is the mechanical push-latch finial. The implements are all shown, French .800 silver with a gold vermeil. I'm not certain they're original to this caddy, but they fit it well. It seems very certain to me the scent or salts flask/flacon is original. Full measurements are noted on the photos.
Very good to excellent condition for age and type, these rarely are found complete with all the shells undamaged. Tight ormolu framework, which seems to need a little adjustment as I list it, the latch isn't catching on one side of the hinged shell - I'll have Rick look at it. He's great at these adjustments. But, at listing, you'll notice the photos show it very slightly ajar on one pearl half or side panel. There is a tool in every opening, though it seems they do not all match perfectly, and as noted, I am unsure they are all original to this set, though they certainly fit the openings perfectly. They are .800 French silver (tiny marks) with a layer of 18k gold (vermeil) and so have a gold look to them matching the framework of the stand. As you can see from our photos, there is a hairline across the original old oval alabaster base. It is firmly affixed and there are no chips. An old felt has been removed to show it fully, and one might wish to add a replacement felt on bottom.
