XIXth Inlaid Courtesy Box

19th century box, marquetry of lemon rosewood and maple. Decorated with nets, floral foliage, shells and scrolls, a set of initials in Gothic lettering is engraved in a small ivory medallion at the heart of the central medallion. Commonly called courtesy boxes, they were in vogue in the 18th and 19th centuries and were used to store mail, writing instruments, pens, stamps and wax sticks, or more simply jewelry, and many other little secrets. . They often accompanied their owner on their travels. This one has a clever double bottom arrangement, with in the lower part, shutters which slide laterally. Period XIX th century.