Soap and sponge boxes

C. Louis Gérard

ca. 1739 · Silver · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Matching spherical boxes such as this pair were often made to accompany a silver shaving basin—an oval bowl with a broad notched rim that allowed the basin to be pressed against a gentleman’s neck while he was being shaved. The decorative piercing on the sponge box had a practical purpose: it allowed air to circulate to dry the damp sponge. The unpierced box accommodated a piece of soap, which, in the eighteenth century, was purchased in a ball rather than a bar.

Artist

C. Louis Gérard

Date

ca. 1739

Medium

Silver

Culture

French, Douai (Lille Mint)

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Bequest of Catherine D. Wentworth, 1948