A mid-1800s table snuff, natural shell in a deep chocolate color lining the interior of a blackened wood snuff box. Atop, a very beautiful c.1750s hand painted portrait of a stylish young woman, blond hair and gray-green eyes, and pearls wrapped into her curly hair. The portrait is superb, early. I'm unsure of the presence of the layered stamps on back, in red white and blue. The painting is signed in the dark area at about the 5 o'clock position, but I can't make it out at all. From my own collections, this one is early! And shows very well, indeed.
Very good to excellent condition for age and type. The painting is undamaged, no warp, chips, hairlines or cracks. It is exquisite, capturing such detail in the 2 3/4" diameter aperture. Amazing to me how her likeness and the depth and form of the pearls can be so well-captured in a space of less than 1". Stamps affixed to the bottom of the box, significance is not apparent to me. The box is in very good form, but for the very small losses to the inner lip of shell liner (see images).
