Shibayama Napoleon III Inlay Theater Binoculars

This exceptional pair of binoculars with Shibayama decoration of pheasants, birds, insects and plants inlaid with mother-of-pearl and enhanced with gold lacquer is mounted in aluminum.
Between 1864 and 1890, aluminum was a material as precious as gold because the process of refining the ore was very expensive before the development of the industrial process that allowed its popularization.
Magnificent pieces were presented at the Universal Exhibition of 1868, and Emperor Napoleon III ordered aluminum tableware with his cipher.
Cracks on the natural material, some restorations to the inlays, stabilized crack on an eyepiece, dent on one of the circles of a large lens.
VERY GOOD CONDITION, Napoleon III period circa 1870.
Width 11.2cm, height 4.7cm, depth folded 7.7cm unfolded 9.7cm
Weight 188g