Magnificent mid-1800s French cigar case or etui, 6" long and in rare fine form with 4 hand carved dogs, hounds, whippet or similar on the top cover. Both front and back panels are faced in ivory. The frame is silver plated and nicely polished and the end trim plates on the upper panel appear to me to be .800 or higher silver but I do not see the typical French silver punch marks, so perhaps one would find punch marks on the inside of the trim pieces. The old original silk interior remains within and the baffled sides are leather. Full measurements are noted on the photos.
Very good to excellent condition for age and type. Not a flaw to the carving of the 4 dogs, nor to the flat top panel. The bottom panel does not have edge trim and one can see a fine tight line at one corner, though it is firm and not broken off, possibly has had benefit of a restoration/support at some point. Shows beautifully, the case might hold slender cheroots or cigars, it doesn't want to expand, for instance, to hold many of the ones shown in our photos. On the interior, which is in well-preserved state, one can note that the overlap which would have been a match holder with striker emory panel seems to have been lost over time. Quite remarkable that there are no losses to any of the 4 dogs, slender legs, deeply carved bas relief heads - obviously this was a very special one and well-treasured.
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.
