Tortoiseshell Sewing Compendium with Mother of Pearl Inlay
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Antique tortoiseshell sewing compendium a tortoiseshell compendium, with inset Mother of pearl decoration, to fitted interior with scissors and other sewing implements, height 11 cm approx., tortoiseshell loss verso.
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- Verso - Verso is the "back" side of a sheet of paper, art work, coin or medal. The front side is "recto".
- Tortoiseshell - Tortoiseshell is a translucent material that comes from the horny carapace of a certain types of turtles, including the hawksbill turtle. It is often therefore mounted on a colour underground - often red - or inlaid with gold or silver thread, as seen in Boulle furniture.
The texture and colour nuances of the material are extremely important. Heated tortoiseshell can easily be formed into various shapes. Like other natural materials, tortoiseshell becomes more beautiful with use. In a time before plastic, tortoiseshell was widely used for small objects such as combs and powder compacts.
In 1973, the trade of tortoiseshell worldwide was banned under CITES (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). Prior to importing or exporting items containing tortoiseshell a CITES permit must be obtained. Tortoiseshell items cannot be traded on Ebay.
"Faux tortoiseshell", another case of man initiating nature, is made from old-style plastics such as celluloid and cellulos and is coloured with red, yellow and brown spots to imitate the genuine article. It is commonly used in glasses frames, musical instruments and costume jewellery. - Compendium - A compendium is usually a wooden box that has several compartments and drawers for storing the various items. A stationery compendium would be used for storing and organizing various personal or business items including documents, business cards, passports, and other items that need to be organized and easily accessible. It is typically a wooden box t
A compendium for correspondence would usually have pockets for holding different sizes of envelopes, and sometimes may have a built-in address book or a calendar. It can also have a pen loop or holder, and sometimes a calculator.A compendium for games would usually have pockets for holding game pieces, cards and sometimes rule books. It can also have a space for a chess or checkers board.A sewing compendium would have compartments for thimbles, bobbins, needles etc. - Mother-Of-Pearl - Mother-of-pearl, technical name "nacre", is the inner layer of a sea shell. The iridescent colours and strength of this material were widely used in the nineteenth century as an inlay in jewellery, furniture, (especially papier mache furniture) and musical instruments.
In the early 1900s it was used to make pearl buttons. Mother-of-pearl is a soft material that is easily cut or engraved.
Nowadays it is a by-product of the oyster, freshwater pearl mussel and abalone industries.
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