Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Toothpick/Pomander
(Renaissance Europe )
A pomander was a pierced container, usually of highly decorated metal, containing an aromatic substance, such as balsam resin or ambergris (a sweet-smelling oily wax regurgitated by the sperm whale), worn to protect against bad odors. Women often suspended them from their girdle (belt). "Pomander" can also refer to the sweet-smelling substances themselves, which today we may put in a drawer with linens or underwear.
Here, a small pomander is combined with a toothpick, a necessity in the time before toothbrushes. Queen Elizabeth I of England (1533-1603) carried one. During the 1600s, the popularity of wooden toothpicks made carrying one like this a bit old-fashioned.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 1984-1987 | Objects of Adornment: Five Thousand Years of Jewelry from the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York; Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio; Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa; Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu; New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans; Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis; Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota. |
| 1987 | Jewelry from the Walters Art Gallery and the Zucker Family Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1979-1980 | Jewelry - Ancient to Modern. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1971-1972 | World of Wonder. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 4/1/1951 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 7/18/1969 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 7/22/1969 | Examination | survey |
| 9/1/1971 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 6/17/1983 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
| 9/1/1984 | Treatment | cleaned; coated |
| 1/24/1988 | Treatment | cleaned; examined for condition |
| 5/9/1991 | Examination | examined for condition |
Geographies
Germany (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 3 9/16 × W: 1 1/4 × D: 9/16 in. (9 × 3.2 × 1.5 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
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.
44.482