Bénitier pour le Lit
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number
1921-6-313-39
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
**Bénitier pour le Lit** is a delicate 1748 print by Pierre Germain (1703–1783), a masterful French engraver and designer active during the lavish Rococo era under Louis XV. Created as a design proposal, it depicts a *bénitier*—a small holy water font intended for bedside use in Catholic households. Germain, renowned for his intricate silverwork and ornamental prints, captured the opulent taste of mid-18th-century France where such pious yet elegant objects blended devotion with domestic luxury. As a print, this work exemplifies how engravers like Germain disseminated sophisticated designs to...