Early to mid-1800s, possibly earlier, this is a perfect carved plaque, seems to me to have been carved perhaps as one side of a large coin purse or tobacco pouch. It has never been put to use. I have collected similarly carved mother of pearl sides and fan monture, etc., through the decades, and will be offering those soon, too. The subject on this one is Psyche and Cupid, Psyche turning her head away from Cupid. Love's rejection pose.
Excellent condition. The plaque is pristine, no flaws, no warp, flat and still has the original paper sticker on back. Dates c.1850 or earlier.
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.
