At the end of Shabbat the house does not simply switch back on. A cup is lifted, a flame is watched, and sweet spices are breathed in. The little tower exists for that inhale. It gives the departing day a scent.
The form is almost playful: turrets, doors, flags, tiny architectural jokes in silver. That play is serious. Jewish time is not only counted. It is tasted, smelled, sung and held in the hand.
The record
The Havdalah ceremony marks the separation between Shabbat and the ordinary week with wine, spices, light and blessing.
Spice boxes appear in many forms, but the tower became especially associated with Ashkenazi silverwork in central and eastern Europe.
A little silver tower of sweet spices carries Shabbat out of the house and leaves ordinary time smelling better than it did before.
The record
The spices answer a liturgical and sensory need: the transition out of Shabbat is made physical, not merely announced.