"Antoinette-Marie Victoire Geoffroy, neé en 1780, marie a' Claude Jorgues Philippe Francois-Berricourt le 22 phériere(??) Arr. VI (6th Arrondisement), décédie le 27 Octobre 1853 a' Issy, les Unelineaur(??)".
You will have much enjoyment researching this superb table snuff, and deciphering the iconography of its miniature painting. The dates would suggest she (in blue) was a baby just after The Terror, and here we see her as a beautiful young woman with an older woman outside the home, peering in, the girl's purse left unattended and within reach. The woman in white has a look of the fisherwomen who's raid of the Palace of Versailles and subsequent capture of Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, and 'to the death' attacks on many of the courtiers and upper servants and guards, makes one wonder at the story being told here. This type of item thrills me and sends me searching out iconographic reference in art of the era. Did the revolution 'steal' away her worldly station and goods, and her family? A splendid keepsake from that c.1800 era. The box is solid tortoise shell, tortoiseshell.
Very good to excellent condition for age and type. You can see there is a very light disruption to the old shell snuff box, lid at about the 4-5 o'clock position. Mostly, however, it has survived in fine form. Full measurements noted on the photos. Original convex cover glass has preserved the small interior painting perfectly. No chips, no hairlines. The handwritten paper stamp is affixed on the inner lid. A museum piece!
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.
