The height of elegance, the engraved marquetry of mother of pearl against the mottled chocolate to cognac coloration of the old tortoise shell is just stunning, and never more so than in this card case. A nice large-sized one, you'll be able to use this for your own modern business cards, or a credit card and bit of cash if you wish to use it as an 'after hours' or evening bag of sorts. These are perfect conversation starters at those often boring business after-hours events, the meet-and-greet type which can sometimes pose daunting socially, and yet are so important both for anchoring clients and customers, and for making an impression. Or perhaps you just want it to add to your collection or tabletop display. Remarkably unscathed by time, this one is top of the line in all ways.
Very good to excellent condition for age and type, without any losses, no lifts to the inlaid mother of pearl, and no damage to the hinge or clasp, both of which are working very well. Very slight natural imperfections perhaps, though I'm not seeing anything to point out. No splits, no hairlines or cracks, no chips and not even a tiny bug bite. This one is superb! Nice larger size, it holds today's business cards with room left over.
The vast majority of worked and antique object tortoise shell material comes from the shells of two species of sea turtles: the hawksbill (Eretmo-chelys imbricata) and, more rarely, the green turtle (see box A). The shells of these turtles exhibit attractive patterns that normally consist of light to dark brown patches, though a homogeneous “cream”-colored variety called blond tortoise shell also exists.
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.
