Fondica France Silvered Metal Duck Box, Heavy Cast Trinket Casket

Weight is often the tell for how something was actually made. A thin, stamped or hollow-cast decorative piece feels light in the hand no matter how detailed its surface looks; this box runs close to two kilograms, which points to a solid, substantial casting process rather than a shell dressed up to look heavier than it is. The duck's body opens as a hinged box, with the join running low along the flank so the split stays nearly invisible when closed.

The surface carries engraved feather detail worked in distinct patterns across the wings, back, and tail — layered chevron strokes on the body giving way to a scalloped, almost basket-weave texture along the lower flank, the kind of differentiated tooling that separates a considered casting from a generic bird-shaped blank. It's silvered metal rather than solid silver, with the head and open beak left smooth in contrast to the textured body. It carries the Fondica mark, a French foundry based in Gisors that produced decorative metalwork through designers like Mathias and Pierre Casenove from the 1980s onward.

The seller offers this piece sold as photographed, with no separate condition guarantee beyond what the images show — worth knowing going in, and consistent with buying secondhand rather than through a dealer with formal condition grading. At 18.5 cm long, it suits a desk or shelf as a closed, weighted object rather than one meant to be handled constantly.

It arrives professionally packed and fully insured — we handle the paperwork and worldwide shipping. Returns are accepted within 30 days.

Details
Materials: silvered metal
Dimensions: length 18.5 cm (7.3 in), height approx. 9.5 cm (3.7 in)
Weight: approximately 1.6–1.8 kg (3.5–4 lb)
Maker: Fondica, France
Condition: very good vintage condition

Condition details available on request.

Electrical details available on request.

Shipping details available on request.

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Provenance details available on request.