Whisk Toilet Service of the Duchesse de Cadaval (alternate title)

The third duke of Cadaval of Portugal ordered this nineteen-piece toilet service for the French princess Henriette of Lorraine on the occasion of their marriage in 1739. The only complete French toilet set to survive from the first half of the eighteenth century, it includes a mirror, ewer and basin, candlesticks, jewel boxes, clothes brush, and pin cushion, among other articles.

The royal silversmith Thomas Germain (1673-1748) may have designed this elegant toilet set, actually fabricated by four lesser-known Parisian silversmiths. Commissioned by one of the most important lords of Portugal, the set represents the quality and luxury of the toilet services made for the French court during the first half of the eighteenth century and later melted down or dispersed.

Credit: Founders Society Purchase, Elizabeth Parke Firestone Collection of Early French Silver Fund