Beautiful Victorian Era, Napoleon III era tortoise shell calling card case inlaid with mother of pearl. Very fine condition for age, this one is large enough for today's business cards and is certainly suitable for use. Photos from all angles of view, the 2 sides are individually worked in florals and vines appears on each side. Further, a silver stringing divides those marquetry panels from a slightly darker border of plain darker tortoise shell. Lip in ivory, the overall condition is superb for age. Measurements noted on the photos.
Very good to excellent condition for age and type, no chips, no bug bites, no missing sections and all of the mother of pearl marquetry is in place in beautiful florals on both sides. The tortoise shell on this one is gorgeous! Rich chocolate to cognac coloration in evenly disbursed mottles. The crisp rectangular corners are also beautifully preserved. A few very minor signs of use or age, but nothing major.
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.
