Basin

Marc Bazille

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A ewer with its accompanying basin was among the most important components of the washing and grooming ritual known in France as la toilette. The ewer would have held water; the basin served as a small, portable sink. The intended function of this ewer and basin is made clear by the aquatic motifs chosen to decorate them. Beneath the spout of the ewer is a dolphin mask framed by bullrushes, and the finial of the hinged cover is formed by a dolphin whose tail serves as a thumbpiece. Bullrushes also decorate the inner sides of the basin. This ewer and basin are among the Museum's finest pieces of French Rococo silver. The sinuous lines of the ewer and its handle are a hallmark of the Rococo style, and the dolphin, appearing both in mask and finial form, was a frequently used motif.t

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art