Basin
1682-1683 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This basin is part of a shaving set that also includes a jug (Loan:Gilbert.620-2008) and a soap box (Loan:Gilbert.622:1 to 2-2008).Inventories show that silver shaving sets were in use from the early 1500s; however, this set is the earliest known to survive. Soap was kept in silver ball-shaped containers at the edge of the silver basin. The jug held water for washing.
The range of British silver for the home from this period (the first for which a representative quantity survives) demonstrates increasing foreign influences from France, the Netherlands and Portugal. The rising demand for fashionably decorated European silver from the 1660s onwards reflects Britain's new wealth and political stability.
Sir Arthur and Rosalinde Gilbert began collecting in the 1960s and over a period of 40 years formed one of the world’s great private collections of decorative arts. The collection consists of over 800 objects from the fields of European gold and silver, Italian mosaics and hardstone, portrait enamels and gold boxes. Sir Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996 to be housed at Somerset House, London, having previously been displayed at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). In 2008 the collection was moved to dedicated galleries in the V&A, where a selection has been on permanent display ever since.
The range of British silver for the home from this period (the first for which a representative quantity survives) demonstrates increasing foreign influences from France, the Netherlands and Portugal. The rising demand for fashionably decorated European silver from the 1660s onwards reflects Britain's new wealth and political stability.
Sir Arthur and Rosalinde Gilbert began collecting in the 1960s and over a period of 40 years formed one of the world’s great private collections of decorative arts. The collection consists of over 800 objects from the fields of European gold and silver, Italian mosaics and hardstone, portrait enamels and gold boxes. Sir Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996 to be housed at Somerset House, London, having previously been displayed at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). In 2008 the collection was moved to dedicated galleries in the V&A, where a selection has been on permanent display ever since.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | silver, engraved |
| Brief description | Silver basin, London hallmarks for 1682-83, mark unidentified |
| Physical description | Plain oval basin, the broad rim with a round depression at one side, engraved with the crest of Bridges. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label | (Gallery 70, case 4)
6. Shaving jug, basin and soap box
1682–83
London, England; jug and basin maker’s mark WS; soap box maker’s mark WME
Silver
Engraved with the armoured crest of the Bridges family
Museum nos. Loan:Gilbert.620 to 622-2008(16/11/2016) |
| Credit line | The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
| Object history | Provenance Acquired by Arthur Gilbert from S.J. Phillips Ltd, London, 1987. |
| Historical context | Silver shaving jugs, along with basins, are included in inventories from as early as the sixteenth century but this set is the earliest known surviving example. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This basin is part of a shaving set that also includes a jug (Loan:Gilbert.620-2008) and a soap box (Loan:Gilbert.622:1 to 2-2008).Inventories show that silver shaving sets were in use from the early 1500s; however, this set is the earliest known to survive. Soap was kept in silver ball-shaped containers at the edge of the silver basin. The jug held water for washing. The range of British silver for the home from this period (the first for which a representative quantity survives) demonstrates increasing foreign influences from France, the Netherlands and Portugal. The rising demand for fashionably decorated European silver from the 1660s onwards reflects Britain's new wealth and political stability. Sir Arthur and Rosalinde Gilbert began collecting in the 1960s and over a period of 40 years formed one of the world’s great private collections of decorative arts. The collection consists of over 800 objects from the fields of European gold and silver, Italian mosaics and hardstone, portrait enamels and gold boxes. Sir Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996 to be housed at Somerset House, London, having previously been displayed at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). In 2008 the collection was moved to dedicated galleries in the V&A, where a selection has been on permanent display ever since. |
| Associated objects |
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| Bibliographic reference | Schroder, Timothy. The Gilbert collection of gold and silver: recent acquisitions. Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) 1988, cat. no. F |
| Other numbers |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.621-2008 |
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| Record created | June 26, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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