GOLD BOX FOR GAMING CHIPS WITH PLAYING CARD SYMBOLS EUROPE, MID-19TH CENTURY, CIRCA 1850–1860

An elegant miniature circular box for gaming chips, crafted in gold and decorated with mother-of-pearl panels. The object represents a refined example of European luxury accessories associated with the culture of salon card games in the mid-19th century.

The lid is decorated with a relief composition of four playing cards arranged in a fan. Each card bears the symbol of a suit - spade, diamond, club and heart. The cards are made of pale mother-of-pearl with coloured inlays that create a vivid contrast against the darker mother-of-pearl ground. The sides of the box are ornamented with a repeating fluted frieze typical of jewellery work of the Historicist period.

Inside the box are four round gaming chips made of mother-of-pearl, each engraved by hand with delicate wreath decoration and the symbols of the four playing card suits. Such miniature gaming sets were intended for use during card games in aristocratic and bourgeois salons and often served as elegant personal accessories or refined gift objects.

The use of gold and mother-of-pearl emphasises the luxurious character of the object and its connection to the refined culture of leisure in European society during the middle of the nineteenth century.

Hallmarks: Assay mark “14K” (585), import mark “V”.

Dimensions: Height: 1 cm; Diameter: 1.8 cm.

Weight: 4.1 g.

Condition: Good. Minor traces of use. All four gaming chips are preserved.

Provenance: European private collection.