Antique French Blond Tortoise Shell Lorgnette - 18k Gold Pique and Silver 'Vemeil, 1800s
Antique French blond tortoise shell and 18k gold layered on marked .800/1000 pure French silver (vermeil) with a large 18k cartouche with monogram, and pique stars. Marked with the tiny French boar's head, which is the guarantee mark for .800/1000 or 2nd titre (standard) silver, the marks so small - which I might add here, fooled another dealer into thinking it was solid 18k gold. This one is opulent, true enough, but it is not 18k solid gold! Dating to mid-late 1800s, you can see similarly made items from the same era in our photo of a Museum display case detailing this type of gold inlaid items from an earlier period. The lorgnette is either of finest quality carved blond shell, or perhaps boiled horn which can often mimic the blond shell and was also used in this period and type of item. I buy my 1.5 magnification 'readers' at the grocery store and seem to lose them right and left, but think of your reading aid in the Napoleon III era, and here is the result. Elegant reading glasse