Gold, with black-stained jadeite and black-backed chalcedony; the lid set with rose- and brilliant-cut diamonds, lapis lazuli, turquoise, malachite, rhodonite, mother-of-pearl and pearl, Lacloche Frères, Paris, about 1926. Bequeathed by Miss J.H.G. Gollan. M.24-1976. Victoria & Albert Museum © V&A Images.

Jewelled vanity cases were popular accessories during the 1920s, an indication of the wider acceptability of women wearing make-up in the years after the First World War (and of their even applying it in public). This case contains two compartments for powder and rouge, a central detachable lip-stick holder, and a mirror inside the lid.