This distinctive box belongs to a small group recently identified by David A. Schorsch and Eileen M. Smiles as the work of schoolgirls under the tutelage of Emeline M. Robinson in her Portsmouth, New Hampshire, school, established in 1824. Each example features portraits drawn on paper in ink, painted in watercolor, applied to the top and sides of the box, and then protected under framed glass panels. This is one of two boxes in the group that features ten rather than eight such portraits.

Stacy C. Hollander, "Trinket Box with Portraits," exhibition label for ALSO ON VIEW: Selections from the Collection. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.