Vintage Wednesday: What is it?

This is a silver box. The main body is about six inches tall, but the swan on top stick up beyond that. It's oval shaped and has no handles. It stands on four little feet like a pedestal. The top is hinged and it opens up to reveal a smooth interior. It's from England. What is it?

It's called a biscuit box. It's a silver box to hold cookies - a biscuit is a cookie in England. My mother had a biscuit box when I was growing up that she'd use for teas or special dinners to hold a flower arrangement. When I was little, I always wondered why she called it a biscuit box when we never put "biscuits" in it. I'm from a Southern family, we always had biscuits. Of course, when I got a little older I figured it out... or she explained it all. I just don't remember when the revelation came, but I do know I always loved my mother's box and when we spotted this in a London shop in Portobello, we knew it had to come home for me. It reminded us both of the swans at Kensington. And so it came home where I've used it for teas and flowers just like Mama did as I was growing up. And it did a lovely job holding scones when pressed into service.

So there you have it: an old-fashioned cookie jar. Fancy dancy.