Fine Antique Georgian Era Tortoise Shell Table Snuff Box, Casket - French Tortoiseshell in 18K Gold Mounts

I can't find the tiny poincon or punch that would confirm this is French made, but the metal you see there tests at 18K gold, which is the standard in antique French pieces. The stunning old table snuff you see here came to us from France and even with the bugs having munched it here and there, it is a gorgeous old thing. In display on a tabletop, you won't even notice the bug nibbles, as they disappear into the mottled cognac and chocolate of the shell. Interior lid also veneered in shell, so it's as pretty displayed open as closed. Larger than a pocket snuff, it's definitely one meant for the desk or table of some important lady or gentleman in, I would say, the late 1700s to earliest 1800s. Trimmed out in 18K gold, as mentioned, it remains today a gem of a box for any collector's eye.

Very good condition for age and type, bug bites visible and noted. No warp, the hinge and clasp and cartouche test 18k gold and are all lovely. Shell is chocolate and cognac in coloration, beautiful! Very old. Measurements noted on the photos. 

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.