Delicate, elegant, smooth in the palm, this is a slender c.1750-70s portrait miniature snuff box like no other. Just 5/8" tall, closed, and 2 3/4" in diameter, the lathe-turned box mounted with original shell-mat convex glass protected painting has survived well over 250 years in superb condition. I've photographed the 2" diameter painting through the cover glass, not wanting to take a chance of disrupting this unusual mount. The tiny dust you might see is surface of the glass, not the painting, and interior glass is remarkably clean. The wood is spectacular - gnarled root burl with fabulous coloration. A perfect inner lining finishes it out.
Very good to excellent condition throughout, age and type considered. Not a bit of bug bite to shell lining, no damage to painting nor cover glass. I can find a single flaw, and actually only noticed it with our greatly enlarged photos. There is a thin hairline on lid at about the 8 o'clock position, which is likely just an age/shrinkage hairline since it does not appear it's ever been dropped or mishandled in any way. Do you see it? I can feel it with a fingertip, and it appears to have had a push of wood glue pushed in at some point and is totally stable. Nothing else to report. Surely a treasured personal memento - kept as a treasure, as there is no evidence of it having been used. c. 1750-70s. No signature by the artist, and no ID, sadly.
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.
