Round Wood Covered Box

Would anyone know the origin or use for this box? Stands 2 3/8" tall, cover is 3 1/2" across, and about 1 1/2" deep.

 

That looks mid 19th C to me on first blush.

Wood turned jars for many purposes were common all the way through the 1870s until ceramic jars completely replaced them. Tin was in use too.

Some kind of commercial jar for loose powders, maybe apothecary? cosmetic?

Those scratch marks on the bottom are so intriguing, b/c they seem to be 'forced' by having the jar slide in an out. curious.

Does the top work with the bottom when removed? looks almost like a mortar/pestle arrangement.

Candy shop? was there a candy you crushed, then added to soda or ice cream? Just observations, got me.

 

Dawno, I don't understand what you are asking.

 

Using the top with the bottom like this...

may have caused that:


so it's a clue to what it was used for. Don't know 19th C culture well enough to guess though. It's a working hypothesis. What ever caused those scratches was hard, and repeated.

Search for 'wood treenware' and you don't often find an exact use ascribed to the jars. But it has that "apothecary/candy shop" vibe to it, imo.

 

another 'working hypothesis': one protruding nail on a shelf caused all those scratches every time the clerk removed and put back the jar in the same place.

i.e., the lid was just a lid, and the bottom was just a bottom.

 

The box does not fit in the lid, it stands on the rim.