Antique French Billet Doux, Silver and Mother of Pearl, Very Early 1800s Salt box 5" and 1" tray height

5" and 1" tray height

It is beautifully presented and preserved

It has been suggested to us that this work tells the Bible story of Ishmael and Hagar

motion - movement as the wearer moves

Nothing looks like anything as you work the 'painting'

Antique French Billet Doux, Silver and Mother of Pearl, Very Early 1800s Salt box 5" and 1" tray heightThese are rare! What some think might be a cigar case is, instead, a 1700s "billet doux", or directly translated, "sweet note". The case is that into which love notes, invitations to clandestine trysts and such words of love would be sent by courier to one's beloved. Marriage being what it was among elites and titled persons in Marie Antoinette's era and earlier, one did not always consort with only one's spouse. A love note would be written, rolled