Measuring about 11-1/2" x 14-1/2", with a 10-1/2" x 13-1/2" opening, this antique picture frame has a Victorian or Art Nouveau look to it, but there's also something about it that strikes me as possibly Italian or even Middle Eastern or Arab. I've run a magnet over it, and it has no magnetic pull, so my guess is that it is made of brass, and it comes with a removable backing board made of cardboard, covered on one side with velvet. As you can see from the gaping holes in the back of the backing board, it was originally designed as a stand-up frame, but the easel mechanism is no longer present. With a little ingenuity, it could be restored as a stand, or there are probably ways to modify it for hanging on a wall.
The detail in the filigree work is amazing, but I'll let the pictures do most of the talking. I've included close-up shots of all four corners, which are fitted with very finely filigreed brass panels and L-shaped corner appliques. The sides and edges also have patterns finely pressed into them, as the pictures show, even the edges that face the back. And, if I could draw your attention to the bottom edges of the fourth and fifth pictures, you can see that the bottom edge of the frame has some solder remnants, as if it was at one time attached to a base, or - if you reverse what I consider to be "top" and "bottom" - possibly an ornate finial or pediment.
In terms of age, I would guess it's from the 19th century, but I stress that that's only a guess. I really don't know how old it is, but I don't think they make these any more, and it has an aged patina to it, which I haven't tried to clean or polish, so you can decide how much patina you ultimately want it to have.
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