Antique 19th-century French Palais Royal Grand Tour souvenir box is made from semi-translucent, apple-green opaline glass. This box is is heavily ornamented with intricate bronze (ormolu) filigree mounts, which wrap around the body and cover the domed lid in swirling rococo foliage patterns. Accented with beaded trim and twisted rope borders. The center of the box with a lock plate and working key. The casket features several inset oval cartouches containing finely painted verre eglomise miniature portraits of famous Parisian architectural landmarks. To the lid is a portrait of the Palais de l’Industrie. Located between the Seine River and the Champs-Élysées, it was first built in 1839 to host national expositions of French manufactures. However, the building proved too small and was replaced by updated iterations in 1844 and 1849, and a much grander stone, iron, and glass hall added for the 1855 Paris World Fair. It was demolished in 1897 to clear space for the Grand Palais and Petit Palais for the 1900 Universal Exhibition. Adorning the sides are smaller oval eglomise portraits including the Palais Brongniart, Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, Église de la Madeleine (The Church of St. Mary Magdalene), Vendôme Column, Panthéon in Paris, and the Luxor Obelisk.
The box is in overall good antique condition with general wear commensurate with age and use, no chips or cracks to the opaline glass. There is a white swirl line in the green opaline on the exterior dome lid above the hinge, this is in the glass and looks to be from the blown making. Dimensions: 5 1/2" length x 4 1/4" width x 4 1/8" height.