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.
Table Mirror
between 1738 and 1739
Antoine LeBrun
1702-1758
French
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Silver, modern mirror glass
Overall: 25 3/8 × 23 7/8 × 11 1/8 inches (64.5 × 60.6 × 28.3 cm)
Silver
European Sculpture and Dec Arts
Founders Society Purchase, Elizabeth Parke Firestone Collection of Early French Silver Fund
53.185
Public Domain
Markings
Marks, at crest of mirror: [applied coats of arms of the Dukes of Cadaval and Lorraine]
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 pageExhibition 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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English and Continental Silver and Silver Plate. Sales cat., Sotheby's. New York, November 2-3, 1989, lot no. 280.
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Credit Line for Reproduction
Antoine LeBrun, Table Mirror, between 1738 and 1739, silver, modern mirror glass. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Elizabeth Parke Firestone Collection of Early French Silver Fund, 53.185.
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