Box For Preserving Mate, Traditional Latin American Work 19th Century

Surprising box, made up of an engraved and hollowed colocynth, mounted on silver, probably intended to preserve mate, an herb for infusion specialty from Argentina, or Uruguay or Paraguay.. The object is interesting for more than one person title, because it combines traditional goldsmithing and a decorative register of wood engraving. The colocynth is covered with a decoration of traditional musicians. We can notice the presence of violins, a harp and what appears to be a saxophone. This instrument having been invented in 1840 by Adolphe Sax, this dates the decor to the second half of the 19th century. The goldwork is superb and uses older decorative elements, in a very artisanal way, which makes the work particularly magnificent and evocative. It is a particularly unusual and charming object of curiosity. When you open it, a sweet, slightly old-fashioned scent exudes from the inside.