A gold-mounted pietre dure snuff box, probably Italian, early 19th century

rectangular with curved corners, the lid later set with a miniature painting of fishermen by a murky shore with boats and mountains in the distance, painted on textile ground, within a polished gold frame, on a ground of dark green hardstone inlaid with pietre dure fans to each corner, the base formed of a fine pietre-dure panel of conch shells and corals interlaced with silky ribbons embellished with simulated pearls, in the style of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence, polished gold mounts, slender thumbpiece, apparently unmarked

length 9 cm; 3 1/2 in.