My first thought is it's for holding the needles for an old phonograph.....maybe! LOL!
What are the letters carved into it? Looks like it was done by a kid with a pen knife?
What is that striker made of? How is the hinge fastened in? I don't see what holds it on the box?
It' looks to have been gotten into often...that is whatever it held was often used, and it spent a lot of time in someone's pocket.
I am sure it's an unique item....there is not another just like it and I am sure it had a specific use....but what I don't know.
Linda C

Could it have been a kit for lighting candles?

Maybe it goes with a flintlock pistol or gun of some sort. I think it predates phonograph needles, which would have been in celluloid.

But the carvings look like Christ on the cross with the two thieves, so maybe there's an ecclesiastical use?

I think the crucifixion holds a clue. Incense is burned in Orthodox services. I think it might be an old Orthodox incense box. Is there an Eastern Orthodox church (Greek, Russian, and others) near you? I'd show it to one of their priests and ask.

What do the letters around the edge say - or give better pictures of them, and can you give a closeup of the carved lid.

How big is the area under the lid? What is small enough to be carried in there?

It's clearly been heavily used, but having a religious theme doesn't always mean it was used for something religious.

The roughed out letters on the back left of the box are "CHI". On the left side are the letters "RVNT". I cannot tell if they go together or not. On the front of the box, extending on around to the right side are the letters "OISMARCHAN". It looks as if a letter or so may have come before this but they are worn off. The back of the box bears the numbers "1764" and the lower case "i".
The area directly under the lid (with what we assume to be the striking surface) is 1 1/4' by 5/8' by 3/8" deep.

Additional Pictures -

That appears to be a burning heart on the lid... definitely religious reference.
Am I seeing Masonic symbols there?

the "V" is probably an old style "U". Actually Chirunt is a surname. Don't know if it is in this case.

Freemasonry is/or was traditionally frowned upon in the Orthodox and Roman churches. The burning heart and a masonic symbol in an antique doesn't seem to go together.

I'd also suggest finding a priest or member of an Orthodox or Byzantine church or even Roman church and see what they say.

A real wild guess - could be a folk art Pyx. Normally, the cavity would be gold or silver, but in folk art, one uses what materials one has.

V and U are the same character in Latin. Have seen RVNT in old Roman inscriptions granting Roman ciizenship, but it seems to have broader applications.

Chi is the 22nd. letter in the Greek alphabet; if it were combined with Rho, the 17th. letter, it would be an early christogram. But Chi by itself, there's no telling.

Seems whoever made this threw in every bit of iconography he could fit in.

Pyx..........that would explain a lot of things. I was thinking reliquary but this thing looks like it's been carried in a pocket and that's not something you'd be doing with a relic.

We're Russian Orthodox, and this isn't an incense burner. Ours are metal, perforated and on chains to swing.

I don't think a burning heart is Masonic, more like Roman Catholic.

I also don't think that the religious iconography would contradict a tobacco or flint use.

If CHI is Christ, could RVT stand for risen?

Where did you get it?

I was thinking storage box, not burner.

Anyway, I think it's wonderful.

Chi or X is often used to abbreviate the name Christ, as in the holiday Christmas (Xmas). When joined together in a single typespace with the Greek letter Rho (P), it is called the labarum and used to represent the person of Jesus Christ.

Consurgo is "to rise". Christus ressurexit would approximate He is risen in Latin; Christos anesti in Greek.

The burning heart appears to be surrounded by a stylized crown of thorns - real Roman Catholic with the Sacred Heart depiction of Jesus pointing to his flaming, thorned heart. Symbolizing, I think, His undying, unquenchable love for mankind ergo His sacrifice on the cross.

Much more than anyone wanted to know, but I so seldom get to use this stuff stored away somewhere in memory.

Thanks everyone for all of your thoughts and information. Keep them coming please.
This box may be from the Philippines, as my mother may have received it from an American diplomat to the Philippines. I'm afraid all parties involved are deceased so I have no one to ask.

A pyx ... brilliant! The flaming heart, crucifixion scene, it all fits.

For a visit to a deathbed, the priest only would carry enough consecrated bread for that person, so a small box is all it takes.

From Wenster's Dictionary:

pyx:

1. a container for the reserved host; esp: a small round metal receptacle used to carry the Eucharist to the sick.