Leave it to the French to come up with an exquisite name for a mundane carrying case. Thanks to artful design and skillful construction, bonbonnières—pocket-size boxes for medicine or pastilles—have evolved from mere storage containers into elegant tabletop décor and cherished collectibles.
As early as the 1500s, “it became fashionable for gentlemen and ladies to carry a variety of items inside of their bonbonnières, from medicines to peppermints and candies,” says Patrick Dunne, director of Lucullus Antiques in New Orleans, Louisiana. Aristocratic European men generally used plain bonbonnières to protect their tobacco, which was stored in small linen bags, while women often stowed rouge, jewelry, and confections in more ornate receptacles.
The desire for stylish designs blossomed in the 1700s, but the materials available at the time, such as ivory,…