-
Whisk
Rollos, Philip - Enlarge image
Whisk
- Place of origin:
London, England (made)
- Date:
ca.1695 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Rollos, Philip (the Elder), born 1655 (possibly, maker)
- Materials and Techniques:
Raised, cast, applied and engraved silver-gilt
- Credit Line:
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Museum number:
LOAN:GILBERT.642-2008
- Gallery location:
On loan
This object is part of a toilet service engraved with the crest of the Earls Brownlow, Lincolnshire. The toilet service represented the height of aristocratic fashion. Women used the many pots and containers for cosmetics and ointments. The whisk was used to powder wigs. The extravagance and size of many toilet sets demonstrate the public aspect of courtly life. As private rooms were also used to receive guests, the toilet service was displayed to impress visitors. Anne of Austria (1601-66), married to Louis XIII of France, kept a 17-piece gold service in her rooms at the Louvre palace.
Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.
