Ointment Pot

Name/Title

Ointment Pot

Description

A Porcelain ointment pot, white with no remarkable decoration. The Vessel is largely intact, save for a few small chips around the upper rim of the bowl.

Use

This pot would have used either for some form of cosmetic (such as rouge) or ointment/cream.

Context

The use of cosmetics and skin creams among the upper class is a practice which dates back thousands of years, especially among women. The (we can assume) woman who owned this pot would more than likely have been of significant financial means, as the minor cosmetic damages to the vessel were enough to warrant it being discarded and presumably replaced. Porcelain, even plain porcelain like this, was and continues to be expensive to produce, and therefore is considered a luxury good. That the original owner of this pot saw fit to throw it away when it remains in such excellent condition a century after being discarded speaks volumes to how goods would have been valued by some of the wealthier denizens of the house.

Collection

319 N. Basin St.

Cataloged By

Alexandra River Osbourn

Created By

anthropologyandsociology@uno.edu

Create Date

December 13, 2024

Updated By

anthropologyandsociology@uno.edu

Update Date

December 13, 2024