Gold and tortoiseshell snuff box with micromosaic

Gold and tortoiseshell snuff box with micromosaic late 18th, early 19th century Height x diameter: 2.3 x 7.6 cm. Weight: 123 g.
of round shape, made of tortoiseshell (hawksbill sea turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata, Cheloniidae) with yellow gold inner and outer details; the lid with a Roman micromosaic depicting Pliny's Doves, a compositional scheme often used by the famous Roman mosaicist Giacomo Raffaelli and other mosaicists. This depiction shows four doves on the rim of a gilded bronze cantarus filled with water, from which one of them drinks.Hallmarked with not perfectly legible marks that would appear to be those in use in Russia, St. Petersburg, from 1776 to 1825. Item condition grading: **** good.The lot is in a good state of preservation with the normal wear and defects commensurate with its age and use over time. Verified with XRF spectrometer is guaranteed to be gold at the approximate fineness of 716 ‰ (ca. 17k)This lot, accompanied by an expertise issued by Ce.S.Ar Centro studi archeometici, is only available for sale with shipments within the European Union.