With only the slightest loss of some of the 12k gold pique work on the rim, this beautiful old English snuff box would be at home in the most sophisticated collections, and certainly is figuring well in mine at the moment, displayed in a converted French armoire, now a vitrine. The painting is in watercolor or gauche on ivory wafer, and it suffers no losses at all and is a captivating sidelong view of a stately gentleman. In its time, only the very wealthy and titled of society were able to afford to have their likeness so captured for posterity, and yet we haven't any information about this dignified man, sadly enough. But he survives the centuries as you see him, perfectly preserved under the orignal convex cover glass, framed in 12k gold with 12k gold pique trim, and the snuff box is entirely shell. A superb find!
Very good condition for age and type, the painting is pristine as you see it. The expressive sidelong glance of this mid to late 1700s gentleman in his powdered hairdo is superbly crafted for a painting so small. Housed in a shell and 12k gold pique
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.
