Images(2)

Barber Basin

Dateca. 1730

OriginEngland, London (probably)

MediumTin-glazed earthenware (delft / delftware)

DimensionsDiam: 10 1/4" (26.0 cm).

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1957-18

DescriptionShaving bowl: steep-sided bowl with cylindrical foot ring; wide sloping rim has a round depression for soap and a large cutout arc. Whitish tin glaze decorated in blue; on the rim, stylized floral and geometric bands; in the well, scissors, a razor, a comb, a shaving brush, three soap balls, two needles, and a crossed curlers.Label TextThis is probably the most common rim decoration found on shaving basins. Most recorded examples are dated in the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century. A chamber pot with the same inner rim border decoration was excavated in Williamsburg at the Tayloe House, Anthony Hay House, and Hay's Cabinetmaking Shop site (2BDB.1402).Inscription(s)NoneMark(s)NoneProvenanceA. F. Allbrook, London