Cuvette, Brosse à peigne
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number
1921-6-313-97
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
This 1748 print by French artist Pierre Germain captures the refined elegance of mid-eighteenth-century decorative design. Titled *Cuvette, Brosse à peigne*, the work depicts a basin and comb brush—objects likely intended as silver or gilt-bronze toilette wares. Germain, active during the height of the Rococo period, specialized in luxurious metalwork that blended functionality with ornate detail, reflecting the era’s taste for intimate, beautifully crafted domestic items. Prints like this one played a vital role in disseminating artistic ideas across Europe. As a medium, they allowed silvers...