A most unusual card or letter tidy in the form of a plough. Probably English and dating from the first half of the 19th century. These genre objects of Arcadian form became fashionable after the French Queen Marie Antoinette had Le Petit Triannon built within the grounds of Versailles so that she and her courtiers could play at living an imaginary life in Arcadia. Set on a solid white marble base the tidy is spring operated and holds the cards down beneath the handles of the plough. Superbly made and very accurate the plough is fashioned in ormolu with some patinated bronze. Tools such as a hammer are fitted to the plough. & inches wide by 4 inches high by 3.5 inches deep (