Dainty little beauty, painted glass top protected under convex cover glass, and this one still has the original glass bottom, too. While it's the size of an early snuff box, or patch box, I feel certain it was a confectioner's bonbon presentation box. Bottom in glass so one could see the small but fabulous sweets within. The French chocolatier and confiseur's or confectioner's presentation boxes are legendary. I'm always drawn to them. Wonderful things to treasure long after the gift of the candies have been consumed. I have not tested the gold rim/mount to see if it is karat gold. If so, it is less than 18k. The box is lathe-turned ivory. All perfectly fitted, beautifully preserved these 250 or so years.
Very good to excellent condition throughout. A small dent on the side of the metal or gold mount, edge of lid. The bottom is glass. The top is hand painted opaline glass which has a deeper convex cover glass of clear glass. I imagine a gift of sweets, Palais Royal, Paris, ahead of an event, play, Opera there. From the era of ill-fated King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette, such richness for the Nobility a face-to-face with the poverty in the streets, leading to the French Revolution.
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.
