item details
NameToilet Box
ProductionI L; silversmith; 1691; London
Classificationboxes, toilets
Materialssterling silver, silver, metal
Materials Summarysterling silver
DimensionsOverall: 250mm (width), 100mm (height), 200mm (depth)
Registration NumberGH002360
Credit lineBequest of Lady Vivien Younger, 1961
Overview
Toilet services became a fashionable part of ladies’ grooming routines from the late 1600s. They were also a flamboyant display of wealth. Sets could include up to 30 pieces and were often gifted to noblewomen when they married.
The maker’s mark on this English set includes a fleur-de-lis (lily), a French emblem. Perhaps the silversmith fled France when King Louis XIV revoked the rights of Huguenot Protestants and enforced Catholicism in 1685.
England eagerly welcomed skilled craftspeople from France, which was the Continent’s fashion leader at the time.