№ 934

Silk letter case with tambourwork and tender French text

French text is "QU'IL SOIT LE DÉPOSITAIRE/ DES SENTIMENTS J'UN COEUR QUI SAIT AIMER/ IL NE NEST POINT QU'UN AMI VEUILLATAIRE/ IL EN EST TANT QUILNE PEUT ESCPRIMER" That means in English: 'may it be the guardian/ of the feelings of a heart who knows how to love/ it is not a thing which a friend would want to be silent about/ it is conveying more than words can say'. Two almost identical objects in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the Cooper Hewitt in New York.
France, late 18th C