Antique Black Lacquer Shoe Shaped Snuff Box with Mother of Pearl Inlay mechanical sculpture and around the eyes

and around the eyes

hand-embroidered face

I have a sense that this bowl is a pretty special piece

Dimension of cigar box: 6 3/4" x 4 1/8" x 2"

I believe the figures are carved of wood and glued inside

Antique Black Lacquer Shoe Shaped Snuff Box with Mother of Pearl Inlay mechanical sculpture and around the eyesThis lovely little lacquered papier mache snuff box, with mother of pearl inlay at the center of the lid and for the buttons of the shoe, and a hinged lid, dates to the second half of the 19th century and I believe is most likely British, though possibly French. It's seen some use for sure most curiously, the sole is worn in just the way a real shoe would be, as if it has been walking around for the past 150 years or so! It still opens and closes with