Toilet casket

1700–1715

Not on view

Known in French as a carré de toilette, this rectangular casket has canted corners and is richly decorated in so-called boulle marquetry of brass inlaid with tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, and tinted horn (contre partie). Containing ribbons, feathers, or other adornments, boxes like this played a role in the elaborate dressing ritual of the past and would have been placed on the dressing table. Similar caskets are depicted in Jean-Marc Nattier’s portrait Madame Marsollier and Her Daughter of 1749.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Toilet casket
Date: 1700–1715
Culture: French
Medium: Wood veneered with brass, tortoiseshell, tinted horn and mother-of-pearl, rosewood contre partie Boulle work); gilt bronze and steel
Dimensions: Overall (confirmed): 5 x 13 1/4 x 10 in. (12.7 x 33.7 x 25.4 cm)
Classification: Woodwork
Credit Line: Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Sid R. Bass Gift, in honor of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2011
Object Number: 2011.13
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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