Pair of 19th century agate caskets

Orange and blue agate casket.
Orange and blue agate.
Germany.
19th century.
8 x 14 x 9 cm.

Pair of antique caskets in complementary colors, each composed of eight orange and blue agate plaques, held by a brass mount that rests on four spheres also in agate.

In the 19th century, « objets de vertu » of this kind were often given as a gift to young ladies of high society.

Best exemple of all, Queen Victoria, then Princess of Kent, was presented with a white agate casket of the same kind by her aunts Princess Sophia of the United Kingdom and Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel.