Beauty Marks & Patch Boxes

Beauty marks were particularly highly regarded during the eighteenth century and creating false ones became common, often in fanciful shapes such as hearts, crescent moons or stars, but at certain times women also wore patches in the shapes of birds, flowers--even horse-drawn carriages.

Patches could be purchased as silk, taffeta, leather or velvet patches known as "mouches" (flies) other patches were made up of moleskin, hence our word mole to describe a beauty mark. Men and women both used patches. They were first worn in the 1600's to cover the scourge of small-pox scars or other unsightly blemishes. Temporarily glued onto the face, neck, shoulders and breasts, they were adored by the court and satirized by their critics. Since the patches were worn by members of the court, they were typically known as "court plasters."

The following lines are from a play by Beaumont & Fletcher:

"Your black patches you wear variously,

Some cut like stars, some in half moons, some lozenges."

Initially, beauty patches served two purposes: to highlight a well-shaped mouth or eye or to cover a blemish. Later on, placement of patches became significant and could signify ones' political alliance, marital status or sexual availability.

The mouches were considered to be the height of fashion. Mouches were worn to "prevent" toothaches and headaches but they had become stylish for their optical effect, to make the skin appear whiter. The French and English were main wearer's of the beauty marks, but Russian court wore them and called them mushka after the French mouche. 

In France in the 1600s and 1700s, women were not the only ones who wore mouches. The dandies and fops of the royal court, along with their powdered wigs and frilly clothes, sported them as well. This led to the men being both admired and open to ridicule.

"To draw an arrant fop from top to toe,
Whose very looks at first clash shew him so;
Give him a mean, proud garb, a dapper grace,
A pert dull grin, a black patch cross his face."

People wore as little as one to three patches at a time, and there are others who wore as many as ten at a time. Some were placed to direct attention to dimple or smile.

Glapthorne writes in 1640:

"If it be a lover's part you are to act,
take a black spot or two;
twill make your face more amorous,
and appear more gracious in your mistress's eyes."

The usage of the mouches was already known to the 17th century, and was the object of a well precise language, much like the language of fans or flowers, it is at the 18th century that they will become the symbols of the costume. Women used their beauty patches to convey a secret message. Madame Du Barry, a courtesan of Louis XV, apparently defined the meaning of the placement as so:


They carried all of the names:

• Close to the eye, she names herself provocative or fascinated.
• On the corner of the eye, passionate.
• On the corner mouth, this is the lover and kissable.
• Above the lip, she is flirty.
• Under the lip, she becomes mischievous or flirty.
• On the nose, sassy, impudent or strapping.
• On the forehead, the majestic or haughty
• In the middle of the forehead, dignity
• On the cheek, this is the gallant or flirty one.
• On a wrinkle or laugh line, she is cheerful and playful
• On the chest, this is the generous one.
• On a button, the receiver.
• Or well on the chin, would not at all this be the discreet one?

Other figural patches were popular such as chateaux, sailing ships and constellations. The horse drawn carriage patch was a special favorite. The author of England’s Vanity (1653) mentions that "Methinks the mourning coach and horses all in black, and plying on their foreheads, stands ready harnessed to whirl them to Acheron, though I pity poor Charon for the darkness of the night, since the moon on the cheek is all in eclipse, and the poor stars on the temples are clouded in sables, and no comfort left him but the lozenges on the chin, which, if he please, he may pick off for his cold."

Patches were worn for political significance too, and the Spectator reports that "politically minded dames used their patches as party symbols: the Whigs patching on the right, and the Tories on the left side of their faces, while those who were neutral, decorated both cheeks."

In Bulwer's Artificial Changeling from 1653, the author complains: "Our ladies have lately entertained a vain custom of spotting their faces, out of an affectation of a mole, to set off their beauty, such as Venus had; and it is well if one black patch will serve to make their faces remarkable, for some fill their visages full of them, varied into all manner of shapes."

Her patches are of every cut
For pimples or for scars
Here’s all the wandering planet’s signs
And some of the fixed stars
Already gummed to make them stick
They need no other sky. -Anonymous, 18th century.

In Mexico, affluent women wore artificial beauty spots known as chiqueadores or chiquiadores. These small black velvet circles that the ladies of the period glued on their faces, to simulate moles, were considered signs of beauty and femininity. Chiqueadores, medicinal herbs hidden under a velvet or tortoiseshell disk applied to the temples, were sine qua non in female portraits. This fashion in colonial society also imitated the the tiny French mouches for hiding a blemish or disfiguring scars. Another interesting theory claims the chiqueadores in New Spain were used to stave off evil. And one Spanish author asserts that facial moles were part of a feminine code to communicate a certain mood.

Boxes:

No matter how well applied, these patches would sometimes come off. The damage caused had to be repaired immediately and discreetly. The patch boxes may have separate compartments, two little square ones which contained a supply of beauty patches, the another had some adhesive paste or glue and a long, narrow one that held the brush for application.

The beauty patches would be contained in what is known as a "boite-rouge-et-a-mouches" a or "boîte-à-mouches", French terms for a patch box. Despite their size, many patch boxes would sit upon the vanity or dressing table rather than carried to say the opera or a ball, unless traveling. 

It is said that Frederick the Great of Prussia had a collection of 1,500 boxes of various types, sizes and materials. Among the gifts sent from the French king to the queen of Spain in 1714, were three patch boxes, worth $208. Two of the laquer, belonging to the dauphine, were valued at $4,700. Madame de Pompadour's was in the form of a swan, in white enamel, and cost her, or the king, $113. Boxes for the toilette have long been made of precious materials and artistic forms.

Patch boxes were to the ladies of the 18th century what snuff boxes were to the "dandies" of the period. The ladies of fashion carried the tiny boxes in their hand bags or had them, in a larger size, sitting on their dressing tables. The patch was so fixed as part of feminine "makeup" that the boxes to hold them were in general use and were created in the finest of design, as befitted the dressiness of the period. Similar to the ubiquitous compacts tucked away in a lady's handbag. 

There are so many styles of patch boxes it is nearly impossible to describe all of the designs. Boxes were made up of glass, porcelain, pewter, silver, gold, wood, enamel over copper, brass, papier mâche, tortoiseshell, bergamot, ivory, celluloid and other materials.

Other Small Boxes:

Some antique dealers are in the habit of calling all unidentifiable small boxes "patch boxes" as a catchall term. Although as a rule, true patch boxes may be distinguished from snuff and other boxes by the existence of mirrors. 

Snuff boxes were carried by both men and women. Snuff taking was considered the dainty way of using tobacco from the latter part of the 17th century thru about 1825, and every gentleman's brocaded vest had a pocket with a snuff box or bottle. The snuff boxes are found in circular, rectangular, oval, hexagonal and other shapes. The earliest ones are the rarest, for they came into more common use in the 18th century and most of the examples found are of that era.

Small round boxes without mirrors were made to hold counters or markers for the game of whist, and were used by the gambling dandy. The cover is often marked with his monogram or crest. You might even find one with its counters intact inside. 

The nutmeg, when such things were rare, and worth their weight in gold, were contained inside special containers known as nutmeg boxes. These are small decorative containers or boxes found in a variety of shapes (such as the forms of shell, acorn, heart or egg) which were designed to hold nutmegs and usually fitted with a nutmeg grater. The boxes go back to the Stuart period, and died out in the early Victorian period. The boxes held a whole nutmeg and inside was usually a grater which must be removed to grate the nutmeg on to food or drink. Other boxes were provided with an inner lid formed as a grater on which the nutmeg was rubbed, the powdered spice being caught in the cavity below it. In this cavity the nutmeg was kept when not in use. The nutmeg boxes can be found in silver, battersea enamel, wood, brass, ivory, iron and Sheffield plate. 

The comfit was a home remedy kit composed of about a dozen different pastilles, also known as cachous, made from sugar, honey, saffron, and cinnamon. In addition to cinnamon, lozenges of nutmeg, clove, ginger, anise, and fennel complemented the assortment in the comfit box. Many of these pastilles were aromatic cachous for sweetening the breath. Boxes were made to house the "comfits" and first appeared in the 15th century and continued to be used into the Victorian era. Comfit boxes were also known as bonbonnieres, drageoire, and sweetmeat boxes. Made in variety of materials and shapes, the decoration used was similar to that on snuff and patch boxes. The comfit boxes were carried on the person like snuff boxes and vinaigrettes. Larger boxes were intended tor the table and held bonbons or sweetmeats. the comfit box played an important part in politics and history. A packet of sugar was at one time a costly gift to make even to royalty, its powers of persuasion may have helped form alliances or spur treaties.

Patch Boxes of Precious Metals & Stones:

The wealthy class had their boxes made of gold or silver and these are very lovely as well as more uncommon. Gold and silver boxes are often accented with precious gemstones, genuine pearls and often feature vivid enameling. semi-precious stones such as lapis lazuli, agate, malachite, onyx and coral also were used. Some boxes have hand painted ivory miniature portraits or exquisitely carved stone or shell cameos. These are the very height of luxury and command exorbitant prices especially when made by certain manufacturers such as Tiffany, Cartier & Boucheron.

Less expensive alternatives to gold were the boxes made up of gilded brass or bronze. These boxes had various embellishments such as faux pearls, glass paste jewels and enamel décor. Much of these were made in France, but also can be found made in Austria and Germany.

Porcelain Patch Boxes:

Patch boxes made up of porcelain often were fitted with bronze mountings. These boxes were painted with a multitude of motifs ranging from simple beads and lines to romantic scenes of figures and landscapes. Other motifs are rococo scrolling and floral or fruits. Companies such as Meissen, Sevres, Limoges and Chelsea made some of the more exquisite pieces and are highly collectible today.

Also of note was the phrase "patch-box" was also used by manufacturing chemists for holding ointments. Many of these were made up of earthenware or faience pots and were generally hinged.

Natural Material Patch Boxes:

Patch boxes, snuff boxes and other containers were often made of tortoiseshell or ivory, sometimes a combination of both. The tortoiseshell is the outer plate of the shell of two species of giant sea turtles including the now endangered Hawksbill sea turtle. Tortoiseshell was generally inlaid with pique work, a type of decoration made by inlaying tiny points or pins of gold or other precious metals in patterns or pictures. Pique work was less commonly seen on ivory patch boxes. Pique reached its height in 17th and 18th century France, and was highly prized.

Boxes can be found in shuttle shapes, square, rectangular, oblong, heart and round shapes. Some containers were affixed with watercolor portrait miniatures on ivory, crystal plaques for hair, enamel, gemstones, jasperware cameo medallions, small mirrors or cartouches on the outer surface of the lid. 

Other natural material boxes were made up of carved or turned woods. Choice woods such as rosewood, ebony and mahogany are often inlaid with silver, satinwood or mother of pearl. 

Papier Mâche Patch Boxes:

The papier mâche boxes were especially popular in the early Victorian days and some of those found still contain traces of snuff, proving that they were used for this purpose even in those days. As its name suggests, papier mâché is paper pulped with water, glue and various hardening additives, compressed in a mold. It can be sanded down and japanned to a lustrous finish and painted, gilded or inlaid. Some patch boxes made of papier mâche bear decorative prints on their lids and others are merely painted for decoration. Politics had their influence even in these small trifles and many political subjects were caricatured on the covers. One form of decoration that is seen the most was in the inlay of mother of pearl or abalone.

Bohemian Glass Patch Boxes:

The lovely hinged glass patch boxes were made in Bohemia, these were made up of various colors: amber, blue, green, red, purple, vaseline yellow, black, and usually feature enameled designs. Some are even of opaque opaline glass when held to the light. True opaline glass displays a fiery brilliance and true opaline glass was usually imported from France. These are referred to as "imported Bohemian glass puff boxes", "Bohemian glass bon-bon boxes", "jewel boxes" and "ring boxes" in Victorian era catalogs, mostly dating from the 1870s-1900 period. I have even seen some of them being offered as late as 1910. Puff boxes are the Victorian term for boxes that held face powder and a puff, usually made of the expensive swansdown. Bon-bon boxes are meant to hold little candies. When they are used for "jewel boxes" or "ring boxes" they are lined with padded silk.

Enameled Metal Patch Boxes:

My favorites are the ones made up of enameled copper, either in square or oval shapes, though round and unusual shapes do occur. Germany, France and Britain all made similar looking patch boxes. The French, during the reign of the Louis and Napoleonic period, had boxes of such exquisite workmanship that they are now represented in the Metropolitan and other famous museums. The technique of painting with enamels to simulate the finish on Continental porcelain was introduced to England by French artisans.

The English boxes however, have found their way into many private collections, and the best known of these are the "Battersea" enamels. Several other English firms made similar painted enamels, but no other enamel had the quality of Battersea. The Battersea firm only worked from about 1750 to about 1756 when they went into bankruptcy. Antique authorities explain that the term "Battersea" has come to be a general descriptive term for the "printed, enamel on metal" method employed at the Battersea factory in London. A copper base was used, covered with soft white enamel, which gave a fine surface for decoration by hand or transfer process on the high glaze. The English patch boxes known as Battersea, Bilston or Staffordshire enamels, had a small tin or polished steel mirror affixed inside the lid. 

Boxes were decorated with landscapes, fluttering birds, flowers, romantic scenes of figures, vases, foliage, shells, beehives, cherubs, birdcages, and even animals such as lambs or dogs. Some of the more interesting boxes had portraits of celebrated characters of the Georgian period. Specimens of the old Battersea boxes often had a peculiar shade of rose or pink colored enamel and feature small painted flowers and delicate gilt borders.

One of the humorous themes shows a pair of coach horses rearing, with the resultant spilling of passengers and baggage in all directions. 

Bilston boxes were of a slightly inferior quality to the Battersea examples and often had yellow, blue, pink, green, white and other colors enameled on copper. Subjects included fruit, figures, landscapes and other motifs coarsely painted, but still pretty.

In 1911, a newspaper article mentioned that "Enamels on metal masquerading as Limoges, Dresden, Battersea and Bilston plaques, etuis, snuff and patch boxes are being manufactured in enormous quantities on the Continent and also in England. Reproductions of these enamels form a large proportion of the output of the house of Samson in Paris. These latter are now marked with two S's, a long one and a short one crossed. Limoges plaques are being imitated at several factories and some of them are such close copies of actual examples that they are difficult to detect. We know no infallible tests which can be applied to them, but the modern copies are as a rule fresher and brighter in appearance then the genuine. The snuff boxes and tiny patch boxes of Battersea and Bilston are being produced in great numbers. The painting and gilding of the forgeries are poor in quality and can readily be distinguished by comparison and undoubted examples. Frequently the metal rims by which the lids are attached to the boxes have been artificially colored and the fresh glue which has been pressed out has not been entirely removed. The old Bilston patch boxes, which frequently bear a motto or inscription, are usually provided with mirrors in the design of the lid. the glass is of poor quality and the silvering tarnished. When this looking glass appears fresh and bright is it of recent manufacture."

The examples of the Battersea craft no doubt will appeal to anyone attuned to the delicate, the whimsical and the pull of days gone by and would be enchanted with them. Beside the decorativeness of tiny hinges and fasteners, the thoroughness that causes an artist to decorate interior as well as exterior, there is the added attraction of quaint mottoes. 

Being often used as special love tokens, given by lovers to their ladies, many of these objects bear charming mottoes. Battersea Staffordshire enameled boxes often have wonderful little mottos and phrases of love or friendship, some boxes were given as engagement or wedding presents, popular phrases in English were:

• "A Present from Me"
• "Love Me and Leave Me Not"
• "A Friend's Gift"
• "A Pledge of Love"
• "A Token of Regard"
• "If You Love Me Don't Deceive Me"
• "Who Opens This Must Have a Kiss"
• "I Love Too Well to Kiss and Tell"
• "All is Not Gold That Glitters"
• "Esteem the Giver"
• "The Gift of a Friend"
• "Take This For A Kiss"
• "May We Join Hands in Hymen's Hands"
• "Free To A Friend, I'd Give As Lend"
• "This And My Hand, Are At Thy Command"
• "A Mother's Gift To A Deserving Child"
• "Long May You Live and Be Happy"
• "May We Be Happy"
• "Joined by Friendship, Crowned With Love"
• "Let Us Agree And Wedded Be"
• "Nothing Is Too Good For My Loved One"
• "The Taste of Love is Delicious"
• "No Pleasure Away From You"
• "To My Love"
• "Think Of Me"

Others referred to the original reason for the patch box and had mottos such as:

• "For Beauty's Face"
• "To the Fairest of Her Sex"
• "When Virtue Joins, Fair Beauty Shines"

Many of the phrases were in French. Romantic sentiments were taken from the objects they adorned, such as a patch box resembling a basket of fruit with the inscription "L'amour les a Cueilli pour la plus Belle' ('Love Picked them for the Most Beautiful". Other romantic French inscriptions included:

• "Je suis votre captive" (I am your captive)
• "Gage de mon amour" (Pledge of my love)
• "Imitez Nous" (Imitate us)
• "Pour L'Honneur et L'Amour" (For love and honor)
• "Je Blesse mais J'Attache" (I wound but I attach)

Less common were the boxes with mourning or memorial motifs such as urns, wreaths, weeping willows, doves, skulls, and other memento mori. Mottos such as

• "Absent Not Forgotten"
• "Remembrance of Friendship"
• "Remember My Friend, All Things Have an End"
• "Lay Hold on Time, While in Your Prime"
• "In Remembrance of a Friend"
• "As The Rose, So Is Life"
  

Occasionally one can find politically inspired boxes with celebrated English heroes such as Admiral Horatio Nelson were given tribute on many a patch box lid, sometimes followed with mottoes such as "Brittania Rules the Waves" and "British Gratitude". Royal Navy Officers Admiral Duncan and Lord Rodney have also been seen gracing the lid of a box.

Mottoes such as "May Lasting Peace and Trade Increase", "May War Ever Cease and Friendship Increase", and "Peace, Unity & Trade" helped bridge the gap during the Revolutionary War.

Ironically, fine pieces were made by the English to appeal to American tastes with mottos such as "Liberty & Independence", "May the Genius of Liberty, be Proof Against the Evils of Tyranny", "Great Washington To Thee, We Owe Our Liberty", or images of the American Bald Eagle, and war heroes General Lafayette or George Washington.

Very rare specimens inspired by the Wilberforce Anti Slavery movement in England feature the ongoing issue of slavery of African Americans, showing a chained slave and the words "Am I Not A Man and a Brother" and "Come Over and Help Us".

Others boxes are marked "souvenir" and generally have an image or name of the location.  Common phrases were:

• "A Trifle from Hoxne"
• "A Trifle from Brighton"
• "A Trifle from Lewes"
• "A Present from Worcester"

Today you can still find the exquisite enameled antique boxes thru auctions or individual websites. For those who are looking for a contemporary alternative, Staffordshire enameled boxes are made by Crummels and Halcyon Days.

Bergamot Boxes:

Curious boxes known as "bergamot boxes" were also used for snuff and beauty patches. Bergamot boxes were small round boxes made up of the peels of the inedible bergamot orange.

Bergamot boxes were first made by Glover-Perfumers in Grasse, France and various parts of Italy during the 18th century. The "gantier-parfumeurs", as they were called, were seeking new alternatives as they could not afford to make boxes from leather, due to it being heavily taxed at that time.

To make a genuine bergamot box, first you take the knobby citrus fruit and cut it in half, gently scrape out the pulp without causing damage to the peel. The halved peels were then plunged into cold water for an unspecified length of time, then turned inside out and left to dry in the sun affixed on round wooden frames or other shaped molds. The stiffened dried peels would then be lightly buffed smooth and decorated with a dry point, then once decorated, the two halved peels could be made into a box, one half fitting over the other. These would then be painted, decorated with decoupage or hand painted with designs and then varnished to preserve the natural peel and the artwork.

These genuine peel boxes were quite fragile and vulnerable to damage, so Grasse craftsmen began to cover the boxes with a layer of papier mâche, then a thin layer of chalk and glue to strengthen the natural material. The boxes were then polished smooth and painted or decoupaged, then varnished as before.

This technique was widespread in Provence, France during the 18th century and made for stronger boxes. Bergamot boxes were popular in the areas of Calabria, Italy were the bergamot groves are famous with perfumers, you may recognize the pungent fragrance as that which scents Earl Grey tea. The bergamot boxes were phased out of production by the 1850s with the advent of industrial machinery. The Musée International de la Parfumerie, in Grasse, has an astonishing collection of them today, evidence of this very original use of the fruits of the bergamot tree.


Les Amusements de Spa. 1782:

"I took a box of painted bergamot to keep my orange flowers there. There are some trimmed, with cutouts on a white varnished background, others decorated differently; & those of natural bergamot & varnished without, others even wooden for those who want to confine themselves to this simplicity."

Perfumery & Essential Oil Record, 1911:

"It was Grasse which gave birth to the Perfumery Industry which dates back to the 17th century and commenced with the distillation of the leaves of the Bigarade orange tree from which 'Eau de Nafre' was prepared now termed 'Eau de Brouts.' The flowers were not gathered but only the fruit, the bitter orange, which was allowed to ripen, and the peel converted into a kind of box - 'boite à bonbons' - for holding confectionery. For this purpose the fruit was cut into halves transversely and the peel when dry turned inside out; the pith, now the exterior, was covered with a paste which became very hard and was subsequently varnished and decorated with ornamental designs. The two halves were made to St together by cutting a groove, and the boxes so formed, having the aromatic rind of was the fruit inside, communicated an agreeable perfume to the confectionery with which it was customary to fill them. This industry lasted until the commencement of the 19th century."

FATE OF THE PATCHES & THEIR BOXES:

By the mid 1800s, patches began to lose favor, they were no longer worn, but their boxes were still being produced. 

Patches were replaced by the other artificial moles known as a "beauty spot" typically drawn on the face with a dot from a black eyeliner pencil. In the 1950s, the ever elegant Jean Patchett, one of New York's most famous fashion models, always wore a "beauty spot" one as her trademark. You may recall the iconic blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe wearing one as well. In the 1980s, singer Madonna often penciled in a beauty spot in imitation of Marilyn.

More recently, several companies revived this old fashioned beauty secret. Places like Caswell-Massey and Sephora carried them. About a dozen black silk cut outs that you lick & and apply to your skin. Little figurals included spades, stars, crescent moons, hearts, and even tiny flies, a nod to mouche.  

Patch boxes, bonbonnieres, nutmeg boxes, puff boxes and snuff boxes make excellent small collectibles for those who lack the room for larger antiques. A pretty glass topped case looks especially beautiful when filled with an assortment of antique hinged boxes. To see wonderful examples of antique patch boxes, I suggest to pick up old auction catalogs, especially those from Sotheby's and Christie's. Be careful, once the collecting bug bites you, you may never want to stop. Remember, when shopping about, some of these small boxes may be simply labelled for sale as pill or pin boxes, by those not in the know of the boxes true origin.

In 1928, a newspaper article mentioned that "Old fashioned patch boxes, for several generations of interest only to collectors, now are being sought be modern French women as containers for lip rouge. The tiny boxes are small enough to slip easily into a handbag. Some of the exclusive jewelry shops dealing in antiques are equipping old snuff boxes with modern vanity interiors for compacts of rouge and powder with small mirrors fitted in the underside of the box lid."

The puff boxes continued to be sold, in various materials including metal as shown in the 1886 catalog page below.

Taking Care of Your Treasures:

If you have any antique patch boxes, great care should be taken with them. 

Silver pieces can be polished with care using cream polishes and not silver dips like Tarn-X. Cleaning with a cotton swab dipped in the silver cream may reveal hallmarks or other markings.

Mirrored pieces should never been submerged or cleaned with water or any other liquid. Only use a soft, dry cloth to wipe away any dust.

Genuine tortoiseshell is inert to water and can be damaged by chemical solvents and cleaning agents. Tortoiseshell can easily absorb water, but can also dry out over the years. Tortoiseshell is susceptible to damage from UV light, dust, a damp atmosphere or too much heat. The surface can go dull and look matte, the growth lines of the scutes appear as a faint pattern of wavy lines,  The result if easily seen on a tortoiseshell patch box that has become dull on the outside, while the inside retains its high polish because it is more protected. Tortoiseshell dries out if it gets too hot such as in a lighted display case or displayed near a window, lamp, fireplace or radiator. The result can be warping, flaking or cracking. It should not be kept in damp atmosphere that can cause the surface to go dull and uneven. To re-polish dull surfaces, it cannot be done with household polishes or with oils. Seek out a professional restorer if your item needs to be cleaned or re-polished.

Wear clean, white gloves when handling ivory as touching it with bare hands can result in staining with deposits from your skin or cosmetics. Ivory naturally yellows with age, so don't be tempted to try any bleaching process, such as soaking it in warm milk, in an effort to make it look cleaner. The liquid will only cause the ivory to swell and split, irreversible damage. Store both ivory and tortoiseshell in closed cases that can prevent risks from moisture and temperature fluctuations. Do not store ivory or tortoiseshell in direct light as heat damage can occur. Contrary to old advice, never add oil to ivory or tortoiseshell to keep it from drying out - it does not help and it makes it dirtier in the long run. It is possible to clean ivory and tortoiseshell using a slightly moist, very soft cloth. Only pieces in good condition having a smooth, glossy surface, should be cleaned. Care must be taken not to make it wet, and not to dislodge any inlay or damage carvings. It is not a suitable method to use on tortoiseshell or ivory marquetry as pieces may be loose and can become dislodge, use a soft bristled brush or a hair dryer set on cool to blow away dust. 

The lustrous surface of newly acquired papier mâché is often veiled by a film of brown dirt , the accumulation of tobacco smoke film, grime and dust. Keep in dry conditions away from direct light. Temperature fluctuations can cause separation of layers, cracking, flaking and irreversible damage to your antique papier mâche. Ideally, papier mâche should only be dusted and care taken to not rub off the paint. Never use water to clean papier mâche, especially black or red patch boxes as the dye used in manufacture can run. Using a detergent or polish could potentially change the surface and damage any finishes such as varnish or lacquer, so a soft bristled brush is best for keeping it dust free. 

To purchase antique patch boxes and more, visit my etsy shop: Tresors du Boudoir