Spectacular late 18th to earliest 19th Century Palais Royal serpentine form etui, nécessaire in excellent tortoise shell, inlaid beautifully with 18k gold and silver ornamentation on exterior. Interior has sewing tools and a small perfume bottle with hinged cap and even the stopper still inside (slightly stuck, I did not soak to remove it). The child-size tools include scissors, needle case and bodkin, plus the cranberry glass perfume flask, bottle, with clear stopper and a hinged ornate cap. It would appear 2 small openings would have once held a small stiletto and likely a tweezer/ear wax spoon, and those 2 implements have gone missing over the centuries. Full measurements noted on the photos.
Very good to excellent condition for age and type. Very unusual to not have a single crack, break, hairline or chip in the old tortoise shell etui, no lifts to the gold and silver inlays, and not a single bug bite. The old tax stamp remains on bottom. No chips or breaks to the tiny perfect perfume bottle, and fine sewing items that remain. Again, lost to time: stiletto and perhaps a tweezer/ear wax spoon. My experience would tell me a small mirror would have been inside the hinged lid, and that the red velvet lining there isn't original. Hinge and clasp remain, though it might need adjustment at clasp because it doesn't want to latch closed. Such an elegant little treasure!
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.
