Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Toilet Case with Scenes from the "Metamorphoses"
(18th and 19th Centuries )
The outside of this elegant gold toilet case is decorated with chiseled and engraved scenes from the Roman poet Ovid's "Metamorphoses": the seated sculptor Pygmalion admires his creation, the ivory statue of a maiden with whom he falls in love (Book X); and, on the opposite side, Mercury flies above the priestess Herse, the object of his affection (Book II). The case contains a silver-and-gold folding knife, a pair of scissors, a gold bodkin and pencil, a pair of steel tweezers, and an ivory writing tablet. A ring on top indicates that the case could be worn as a pendant so that the utensils would be readily accessible. The button on the side used to open the case is studded with a diamond.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2010 | Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry. El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso. |
| 2006-2009 | Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry from the Walters Art Museum. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota; The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
Geographies
United Kingdom, England (Place of Origin)
Measurements
4 1/4 in. (10.8 cm) (l.)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
57.953