Featured Little french bronze doré box with enamel

Actually, most of the doré is gone ... so it's just a cute little bronze box with enamel and set 'gems'. Made in France stamped on the bottom. I think it probably at one time had a tiny mirror inside the lid.

I have found several similar boxes - mostly on Pinterest - and they are usually called pill, patch, or snuff boxes (and sometimes all three!) I don't think a pill or snuff box would require a mirror ... so a patch box makes the most sense to me. But the "made in France" stamp suggests that it was made after 1914 (or at least after 1890).

Did women actually still wear fake beauty marks at that time? Do you think this is an actual antique box styled to look like a patch box but with some other intended use?
I am planning on listing it eventually... and will probably use all the aforementioned keywords to cover all bases ... but really am curious what it was meant for.

Do you think I should try to cut down a little mirror to fit in the lid or not bother? (I'm leaning towards leaving it as is since any new mirror will look just that .... new)

Thanks for looking

 

Love this! You are right about the mirror - here is one with the mirror, they are calling it a powder box
https://www.powerofonedesigns.com/p...te-pearls-blue-stones-antique-powder-box-rare

 

Yes, leave it as it is. A new mirror wouldn't look good.
It is lovely as it is, but could benefit from a gentle clean.

 

Wow! cxgirl, Thank you for that link! You found one that I hadn't seen before ... and a beautiful example it is, too. Powder box makes much more sense than patch box.

 

Thank you for your advice
Yes, it was pretty grungy when I first got it and have only used a soft dry brush on it ... maybe some careful damp brushing will help it look better.

 

cool box

 

Many, many years ago, I sold an antique metal purse with that same metal jewel work. The center opened up to the powder and pad inside. It had a gold metal tassel on the bottom and a gold metal wrist chain. I forget what the inside of the purse actually looked like but I think it was blue satin or velvet. It was so long ago, the photographs are on floppy disks from a Sony Mavica. It had the most bids I ever had on any auction, ever. I think I used some Symechrome on a q-tip to clean off one small tarnished area. Maybe you can test it in a small spot.

 

you're welcome quirkygirl I've never seen one with a mirror before, very nice piece!

 

Thank you!

 

That purse sounds amazing!!!!
I love simichrome polish and always keep it on hand ... don't know if I want to go shiny or not with it, though. Will have to see how much gold finish is left in the crevices once it's cleaned up. I appreciate the suggestion

 

Believe it's often hard to define what use these small boxes were originally intended for, but have seen references that mention mirrors or looking glasses inside some snuff boxes, and while not the period usually associated with facial patches, beauty spots were used in the early 20th century, and I have one similar, with a glass religious image rather than enamel, that was my great-grandmother's rosary case. Regardless, it's a sweet little piece, though suspect it's brass rather than bronze...

~Cheryl

https://www.kilmerhouse.com/2008/03/beauty-spots

 

Thank you Cheryl, interesting history of beauty spots ... this illustration cracks me up (I think she still needs a few more of those "beauty" spots on her)

You're probably right about it being brass ... I was going by how it felt heavier than expected for its size, but was really just a guess on my part.