Powder Box

Etienne Pollet French, active 1715 - 1751
On View

in

Fashionable Living, Level 3, South Wing

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About the Artwork

The third duke of Cadaval of Portugal ordered this nineteen-piece toilet service for the French princess Henriette of Lorraine on the occasion of their marriage in 1739. The only complete French toilet set to survive from the first half of the eighteenth century, it includes a mirror, ewer and basin, candlesticks, jewel boxes, clothes brush, and pin cushion, among other articles.
The royal silversmith Thomas Germain (1673–1748) may have designed this elegant toilet set, actually fabricated by four lesser-known Parisian silversmiths. Commissioned by one of the most important lords of Portugal, the set represents the quality and luxury of the toilet services made for the French court during the first half of the eighteenth century and later melted down or dispersed.

Powder Box

between 1738 and 1739

Etienne Pollet

active 1715 - 1751

French

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Silver

Overall: 4 × 5 inches, 1 pounds 6 ounces (10.2 × 12.7 cm, 0.6 kg)

Silver

European Sculpture and Dec Arts

Founders Society Purchase, Elizabeth Parke Firestone Collection of Early French Silver Fund

53.180

Public Domain

Markings

Marks: [coats of arms of the Dukes of Cadaval and Lorraine are engraved on the lid of the box] Maker's mark, on underside of box: [illegible] Warden's mark, on underside of lid and underside of box: Y [for 1738-39] Charge mark, on underside of lid and on underside of box: [crowned A for 1738-44 struck]; Discharge mark, on applied molding on the lid and on the lid and on the box: [walking cow for 1733(?)-75]

Provenance

ca. 1738, probably commissioned by Jaime de Mello, 3rd Duke of Cadaval, or by Louis of Lorraine, prince de Lambesc;
May 1739, Henriette-Julie-Gabrielle de Lorraine, Duchesse de Cadaval [1724-1761];
by descent to the family of the Dukes of Cadaval (Lisbon, Portugal);
1931, sold by 9th Duke of Cadaval;
1931, acquired by (Jacques Helft, Paris, France);
1952, Elizabeth and Harvey Firestone, Jr.;
1953-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

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We regularly update our object record as new research and findings emerge, and we welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Etienne Pollet, Powder Box, between 1738 and 1739, silver. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Elizabeth Parke Firestone Collection of Early French Silver Fund, 53.180.

Powder Box
Powder Box