PATCH BOX

small, usually rectangular, sometimes oval box used mostly as a receptacle for beauty patches, especially in the 18th century. During the days of Louis XV, black patches of gummed taffeta were popular with fashionable women (and sometimes men) who wanted to emphasize the beauty or whiteness of their skin. The patches varied in form and design from simple spots, stars, or crescents to elaborate animals, insects, or figures. Patches had their own tacit language: a patch at the corner of the eye could indicate passion, one at the middle of the forehead could express dignity. Women sometimes carried their patch boxes (which sometimes also contained rouge) with them. A gift of a patch box could be a costly expression of admiration and sentiment, for they were usually gold, sometimes enameled or painted with amorous scenes and encrusted with jewels.