Antique French Snuff Box, Tortoise Shell, Silver, Gold Pique, Portrait Miniature Psyche and Cupid
Redheads! I love the images of Psyche and Cupid, c.1700s to 1800s. A myriad of messages among the old French portraits of the 2, and this one is just charming! Psyche takes away Cupid's bow with one hand and his arrows with the other, a slight knowing smile on her face. Cupid, wings folded, stretches to reach for them, and the 'trouble' is at a stalemate. This depiction means love is too much trouble, or bother, and definitely a cessation is required. We can't know for whom this was created, nor if a gift or a consolation. I don't often find Cupid as a little redhead, either. I love this image. It remains perfectly preserved beneath the original cover glass, very slightly convex and showing a couple of (oddly) interior flashing chips. The snuff box is a table snuff, over 3" diameter, and is dark chocolate colored tortoise shell with a little cognac here or there. Pique work in silver and probably 18k gold. I have not tested, but it does seem like these opulently crafted old ones almost