An antique Victorian period turned Tagua nut egg shaped etui, it is a thimble holder or necessaire with bovine bone needle case with needles, a turned wooden thread bobbin and unmarked silver thimble. It dates to the late 19th century circa 1880.
The Tagua nut, also known as Corozo, comes from the Tagua or Elephant palm Pacific coast side of South America, from Ecuador and Peru Columbia and Panama. The Tagua nuts were originally used by Europeans to help stabilize the cargos in their trading ships holds. When the nuts were landed in Europe they were found to be good for carving into a variety of products. In 1862 at the Universal Expo in Paris they were exhibited as buttons and were marketed as vegetable ivory. Many other small items were made using tagua nuts such as ornamental figurines, jewellery, dice, chess pieces, dominoes, and our etui here.
The etui is made in two halves, each being turned and threaded. The needle holder is made of bovine bone and is also threaded at one end and fits into a threaded blind hole on the inside. The needle holder has a small brass cap to retain the needles and pins inside. A small turned wooden thread holder bobbin sits around the needle case and over that sits the unmarked silver thimble. The inside of the top half of the nut has been relieved to help locate the thimble. It is in good antique condition with minor marks commensurate with age and use.
Length approximately 2 1/8inches ( 5.3 cm) Diameter 1 3/16 inches ( 2.9 cm) Weight 20 grammes unpacked