  About the Artwork
  
  
  The Toilet Service of the Portuguese Duchess of Cadaval (DIA 53.177-192) is arguably the piece-de-resistance of the museum's holding in French eighteenth century silver. Formerly owned by Elizabeth Parke Firestone, in 1953 she donated this Louis XV service to the DIA. It is the earliest one of five eighteenth-century French toilet services that survive almost intact: the warming pan, the spittoon, and pair of paste pots are no longer extant, perhaps lost in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. In view of its immense historical significance, the DIA was fortunate in 2012 to acquire an orphan piece of the service - one of a pair of small silver boxes that was in a private collection. The acquisition of the small box completes the service to the best of our knowledge and makes it even more remarkable.
  
  
  Title
  Small Jewelry Box
  
  
  Artwork Date
  between 1738 and 1739
  
  Artist
  Etienne Pollet
  
  
  
  Life Dates
  active 1715 - 1751
  
  
  
  
  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  French
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Silver
  
  
  Dimensions
  Overall: 3 3/8 × 7 × 4 1/2 inches (8.6 × 17.8 × 11.4 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Silver
  
  
  Department
  European Sculpture and Dec Arts
  
  
  Credit
  Museum Purchase, Jill Ford Murray Fund
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  2012.73
  
  
  Copyright
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