|
Date: |
|
Description: | Patch boxes have mirrors inside and contained small black fabric patches which men and women stuck onto their faces as make-up. Many people in the 18th century had smallpox disease which scarred the skin. To hide scars these black patches were stuck over them. Patches became very fashionable and were also known as `beauty spots' because they emphasised pale skin, which was also fashionable. It became unfashionable not to wear patches, even if there were no scars to cover up.Patches also became a secret code depending on where they were worn on the face. A patch in the corner of the eye indicated passion. Patch boxes were often given as a gift to show love. This box is decorated with the words, 'Who opens This, Must have a Kiss'. This is a Samson copy of a Bilston box, with the Samson mark on the inside lid.
Yellow enamel oval patch box with porcelain lid bearing the lettering: 'Who opens this, Must have a Kiss'. | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/uk/ | Publisher: | Wolverhampton Arts and Museums Service | Rights holder: | Wolverhampton Arts and Museums Service | Subjects: | Manufacturing industry Love and Marriage Romance Decorative arts Metalworking industries Beauty Health Buildings Victorian period Georgian period Terms and phrases Fashion Enamels Sayings Love Small-pox | Temporal: | 1800 - 1899
Georgian (1714-1837)
Victorian (1837-1901) | Source: | Black Country History | Identifier: | http://www.blackcountryhistory.org/colle... | Go to resource |
|
|