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Source Description
Luxurious personal objects were an essential part of a privileged wardrobe during the 1700s and early 1800s, emphasizing their owner’s refinement and wealth. Jewelry, miniatures, and <em>nécessaires</em>—small expensive sets designed to hold grooming, writing, and sewing tools—were often given as intimate gifts, intended to be seen and admired. Their glittering surfaces, however, disguised a system based on the labor and suffering of enslaved or indentured people, whether in gold and stone mines or shops where these goods were made.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
167989
label
Vanity Set (Nécessaire)
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
167989
contentType
object
title
Vanity Set (Nécessaire)
description
Luxurious personal objects were an essential part of a privileged wardrobe during the 1700s and early 1800s, emphasizing their owner’s refinement and wealth. Jewelry, miniatures, and <em>nécessaires</em>—small expensive sets designed to hold grooming, writing, and sewing tools—were often given as intimate gifts, intended to be seen and admired. Their glittering surfaces, however, disguised a system based on the labor and suffering of enslaved or indentured people, whether in gold and stone mines or shops where these goods were made.
date
c. 1760
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80073234
creators
58241
genreSpecific
Miscellaneous
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 5.5 x 4.5 x 3.9 cm (2 3/16 x 1 3/4 x 1 9/16 in.)
cul
England, mid 18th century
accession
2009.57
Source extras
tec
gold, agate, interior fitted with implements, mirror
tombstone
Vanity Set (Nécessaire), c. 1760. Manner of James Barbot (British). Gold, agate, interior fitted with implements, mirror; overall: 5.5 x 4.5 x 3.9 cm (2 3/16 x 1 3/4 x 1 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Howard F. Stirn, 2009.57
collection
Decorative Arts
formerAccessionNumbers
47.2007
2008.264
didYouKnow
This small box with a mirror-lined lid is a dressing table accessory for travel that contains luxury objects such a clasp knife, tweezers, manicure set, and scent bottles.
creditline
Gift of Howard F. Stirn
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:38:59.292000
sourceId
167989
dept
Decorative Art and Design
coll
Decorative Arts
med
gold, agate, interior fitted with implements, mirror
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
10071dd8cbc5bd3f