East Asia, Japan, Meiji period, ca. 19th century; Northern Europe, England, Victorian period, ca. late 19th century CE. A lovely figural place card holder, hand-carved from ivory to present a child dressed as a soldier on a stick horse, waving a flag, and supported with a brass stand on the vero. The Japanese ivory carving holds a Victorian paper menu in the form of an arrow-stricken heart. Poetically written, the eccentric menu reads "Hungry helper / Petrified delusion. / A well concocted dish / with trimmings. / Sugarloaf preperation [sic] / Dainty delicacy / A warm friend / Islandes of the sea / A beverage from heaven / whats left in the kettle. / Coagulated / lactea." The verso is inscribed "Alice." A fascinating pair of romantic memorbilia! Size of ivory card holder: 2.2" W x 4" H (5.6 cm x 10.2 cm)

This is an ESA antique exempt piece of ivory and cannot be sold internationally or to anyone residing in the states of California, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington.

Provenance: private Greenwich, Connecticut, USA collection

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#180104

Loss to bottom of paper menu. Some minor abrasions to ivory, but otherwise place card holder is intact. Both are nicely preserved.