Dating to the French Empire era, and a sweet little piano or clavichord that would have come from, most likely, the boutiques of the garden promenade of the old Palais Royal. Such elegant whimsical luxury goods were on display there in their time, and were sought after as souvenirs by the elite and Royals of the 1700s through late 1800s. The old palace of Cardinal Richelieu became a center of culture, theatre, dining and luxurious shopping that only began to change in early 1900s as the Belle Epoch wound itself down. Even now it's a fun place to visit and the old boutiques remain, some very like they once were, but most upgraded for modern luxury and more usual tourist trade. It's a stone's throw from the Louvre, Paris. But I digress. This is a ladies sewing box and music box. The most sought after of these are fitted with music boxes and perhaps more elaborate mother of pearl and 18k gold sewing tools. This is a set of French sterling silver implements, mother of pearl spool (1 missing, one in place) and the usual ivory keys and charm. The old interior misses a couple of the old implements, but the music box still plays. And our price is commensurate with the condition of this 200+ year old treasure. Lots of photos, look them over.
Very good condition for age and type. The old wood is of beautiful grain, accented at corners with contrasting color, grain. There is one original leg missing but it still stands nicely and smoothly. One has lost some of the very bottom flair, as pointed out in our photos. No wobble, no warp - closes and locks smoothly and all of the ivory piano keys remain (thin, very small amount of ivory). The original key remains with the chest and the lock works. Tray lifts out to reveal jewelry or sewing storage and that original working music box. You can see it winds from the bottom and there is a lever that turns it on or off. It has a beautiful melody and plays loudly and clear, crisp. I can see that a few of the tines are missing, but the melody sounds lovely as it is. The lever on bottom seems not to make any changes. This is not a perfect example of these - it has some imperfections. The ones we've had in museum quality, however, sell several times higher. If you've always dreamed of having one of these, and you'll take the time to watch for replacement implements, this will thrill its next owner. It is 11.25" long, 7.5" widest and 6" tall. Wonderful, too, for a Bru or other antique doll's house.
