Antique Double Sided Bloodstone Agate Rouge Pill Snuff Patch Box

This is an attractive small agate box pendant. The top is a rounded polished brown lace agate, and the base is a flat polished bloodstone (green jasper with red spots). It is similar to a picture locket, except the compartment is deep and held something. Pieces like this are often listed as either pill box, snuff box, patch box (containing beauty spots), or a rouge box. Given that it has what appears to be red lacquer on the walls, this piece may have been a rouge box. Alternatively, the inside could have been painted with shellac or red lacquer. The box is made of bronze or brass, but it would have been gilded with gold leaf, and in some recesses, there traces of gilt that has not worn off. The agate and brass are undamaged. A jeweler could reapply gold leaf if desired to restore it. There is no clasping mechanism, but the top and bottom fit together just snugly enough that it does not pop open. The line in the bloodstone visible with a bright flash appears to be a seam in the stone and not a crack. It measures approximately 1" x 1" x 5/8".