Western Europe, England / France, or United States, Victorian era, ca. 19th century CE. A pair of etui cases for holding tools made from tortoiseshell and horn with silver and gilt-silver fittings and inlays. The smaller etui lid opens on a hinge, with an 88.6% silver rim, and contains a tiny sterling silver pocketknife and a retractable sterling silver pencil. The other etui lid slides off with 89% silver fittings and inlaid rosettes that consist of a gold-silver & copper alloy. This was also probably a convenient traveling case to hold a variety of any necessary items which could range from hygiene or sewing to cartographer drafting tools. The smaller case is tortoiseshell, while the larger is feasibly bovine horn, although shell is a possibility. Size of larger etui: 2" W x 4.75" H (5.1 cm x 12.1 cm); silver quality: 12% to 93.6%; gold quality: 27% (equivalent to 6K+)

Several states and countries prohibit the importation of materials from endangered species, including tortoise shell / sea turtle shell. Please check your country?s laws before bidding on this piece. We guarantee that the piece was made prior to 1973.

Provenance: private Greenwich, Connecticut, USA collection

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#180089

Chips and losses to the surfaces of the etui cases. Toning and patina on the silver fittings on the cases. Knife and pencil are in good condition, pencil is missing the retractable lead tip.