Patch Box

1721–25

John Dixwell (American, 1680–1725)
Boston

Like the other silver patch box displayed in this gallery, this piece was created to store small paper or fabric patches that were worn on the face by men and women to disguise blemishes or for decorative purposes. The engraved tulip design on the cover is typical of Dixwell’s work and may have been inspired by a book of engraved patterns. An inscription on the bottom indicates that Abigail Taylor of Lynn, Massachusetts, may have been the original owner of the box.

Status: On View, Gallery 165
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: John Dixwell
Title: Patch Box
Place: Boston (Object made in:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: c. 1721–1725
Medium: Silver
Inscriptions: Scratched on bottom and underside of lid: A. T. Engraved on the bottom in script: Abigail Taylor Mark, partly registered, on bottom, in oval: I.D.
Dimensions: 1.2 × 3.7 × 2.5 cm (1/2 × 1 5/16 × 1 in.)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the Antiquarian Society through the Mr. and Mrs. William Y. Hutchinson Fund
Reference Number: 1985.245a-b
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/104088/manifest.json

Milo M. Naeve, et al., A Decade of Decorative Arts: The Antiquarian Society of The Art Institute of Chicago, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago, 1986), 80, cat. 54 (ill.).
Patricia E. Kane, et al., Colonial Massachusetts Silversmiths and Jewelers: A Biographical Dictionary Based on the Notes of Francis Hill (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998), 380.
Judith A. Barter, Elizabeth McGoey, et al., American Silver in the Art Institute of Chicago (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016), cat. 12 (ill.).
Elizabeth McGoey, ed., American Silver in the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2018), https://publications.artic.edu/americansilver/reader/collection/section/6, cat. 12 (ill.).

Art Institute of Chicago, A Decade of Decorative Arts: The Antiquarian Society of The Art Institute of Chicago, Nov. 12, 1986–Jan. 4, 1987, cat. 54.

Abigail Taylor, Lynn, MA (1690-1746; m. Edward Pell [1687-1736] of Boston, 1728); with Gebelein Silversmiths, Boston, by 1985; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1985.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.