One of my favorites, this is unique among my collections, and I can only surmise it was a special commission box as I've never seen another made in this way. A lover's secret? A secret kept from a spouse? If you don't know it, you may have just passed it by thinking it a typical early 1800s table snuff box, fine old lathe-turned burl wood with the typical thin tortoise shell lining. You might completely miss that the very bottom actually is made to screw into the base and keep the secret of the beautiful young blue-eyed and dark haired woman kept within. Certainly, the gentleman who commissioned this one kept the box and its secret - his secret, very well treasured. Large, a table snuff, it could have rested on desktop and no one would have thought to unscrew the bottom. I've never found another made in this way.
Very good to excellent condition throughout, age and type considered. I can point your attention to a very small imperfection to the wood on the bottom panel (see images) but other than that, I see nothing at all to report as a flaw. The painting is splendid. Elegant and restrained, but a beauty and allure that is undeniable. Fashion and hair put her portrait date c.1810-20. There at the top center lid you will note a fem has been placed. I've had several snuff boxes made like this but without the portrait compartment, and a center jewel. Usually it has a look of a garnet, or emerald, but this seems very dark, and perhaps in onyx. It is still perfectly in place.
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.
