Beautiful snuff box or small pill box made of white mother-of-pearl with its pointed mother-of-pearl lid, also ringed with brass. It's a real gem!
Mother-of-pearl is a natural and organic material. It is the iridescent coating synthesized by certain shells throughout their lives. This coating lines the inside of the shell, forming the smooth, iridescent lining of mollusk shells, such as oysters or mussels, for example.
It is therefore a mineral produced by a living organism, a bio-mineral. The shell, with the help of specialized cells, produces mother-of-pearl molecules, which it deposits on the shell and sometimes on the pearl when the conditions for a pearl's birth are met. These cells are found in the animal's "mantle" which passes several times a day to add "bricks (aragonite) and cement (conchiolin)" (source: specialiste-de-la-nacre.com).
It is therefore the same material that is used to make the shell and the pearl.
The word "nacre" comes from the Arabic "naqqarah". In English, it is called by the name given to it by the first Queen Elizabeth who lived in the 15th century: mother of pearl. Mother-of-pearl has been used by humans for a very long time, as tools and jewelry made in Mesopotamia have been found. Shells have served as currency throughout the world; they have also been used as receptacles: some are so large that they constitute baptismal fonts in churches. The Mayans made dental implants from mother-of-pearl. Early Christians associated it with the Virgin Mary because of its purity, and the scallop shell became the emblem of the pilgrims of Compostela (source: www.vuillermoz.fr).
Its beauty is such that mother-of-pearl was already a decorative element in Antiquity. It was inlaid in lacquer objects and wooden furniture in Japan and China. Used pure, it was also used to make buttons. Many Chinese engravings were made of mother-of-pearl. This complex process brought great finesse to scenes of oriental life, landscapes, and objects of all kinds. Mother-of-pearl work in the Far East still respects traditions to provide very high-quality decorations. Western countries also used mother-of-pearl from the Middle Ages. It was then used to make luxury products. In the 14th century, it was widely used to make small religious sculptures, then from the 16th century, it was commonly found in oriental furniture as decorative inlay. Italy used mother-of-pearl in the 18th century for haberdashery and jewelry. Finally, it was noticeable in the 19th century for decorating boxes and furniture (source: www.pingtipong.com/bijoux/nacre-et-histoire-de-l-art).
Mother-of-pearl has been used to make accordion buttons, jewelry, to give a pearly sheen to cosmetic products... Cabinetmakers used it to marquetry furniture, like the famous Boulle who also used tortoiseshell and metal veneers.
Here it is a small snuff box: tobacco was sniffed before it was smoked. The snuff box was often offered as a gift or worn as jewelry.
It is a very refined small object that can be used as is, as a pill box or to elegantly adorn a display case or a cabinet of curiosities.
It is in excellent condition.
Dimensions: height +/- 5 cm, diameter +/- 4.5 cm, lid diameter 2.6 cm, weight 26 g.
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