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Ewer and Basin

A work made of silver.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of silver.

Date:

c. 1750

Artist:

Lisbon

About this artwork

This ewer and basin were designed for use in the aristocratic ritual of the toilette, an elaborate practice of cleansing and dressing, often performed in the company of close acquaintances. The term toilette comes from the French word toile, referring to the textile covering on the table where the ritual was performed. The elite toilette was marked by the use of specialized accessories made from expensive materials. This ewer and basin were made in Lisbon, which experienced newfound prosperity in the early 1700s, largely due to the exploitation of enslaved people in Portugal’s Brazilian colonies, particularly at plantations and diamond mines.

Status

On View, Galleries 231-233

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Title

Ewer and Basin

Place

Lisbon (Object made in:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1745–1755

Medium

Silver

Dimensions

A (Ewer): 29.6 × 20.7 × 12.1 cm (11 5/8 × 8 1/8 × 4 3/4 in.); B (Platter): 5.6 × 47 × 35.8 cm (2 3/16 × 18 1/2 × 14 1/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mrs. Chauncey McCormick

Reference Number

1962.99a-b

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/88445/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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