Vinaigrette In Opaline And Gold

Turquoise colored opal crystal dressing. The base and neck are cut into diamond points. The body has almond patterns. the hinged cap is in embossed gold decorated with leaves. It opens onto a grille decorated with a rosette. Diameter 3.8 cm French work from the Restoration period.

At the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, the notion of hygiene was growing, a certain comfort and a longer lifespan implied a new notion of “taking care of oneself”, preserving oneself. Cities are filling up, attracting new citizens through the comfort they can offer, but this is only relative, particularly in the treatment of wastewater and waste. It is still common for basins or chamber pots to be thrown out of the window into the street; Certainly some underground pipes exist, but they are few in number and often clogged. As the rural exodus increases, these nuisances are increasingly significant and are dangerous because they carry epidemics and infections. The pharmacopoeia Since Antiquity, vinegar has been attributed with antimephitic properties and many other more questionable properties; even today, we talk about the virtues of cider vinegar. Pliny mentions its use as an antiseptic, effective against deleterious vapors. In 1801, LB Guyton de Morveau recommended it to disinfect the air. Women used these vinegars, often flavored with lavender or colchicum, to combat nauseating odors and the possible consequences of these cesspools. For this, it was necessary to find a system to transport these volatile vinegars, vinaigrettes were born, from fly boxes and snuff boxes very common at that time, a modification was made by the addition of a small fine grid openwork, behind which a natural sponge soaked in this substance is protected. Opening the box allows odors to diffuse and closing them preserves their properties. Initially, they are discreet and plain in size, then they display a decoration or take the shape of a small bag, but remain objects that one hides in a pocket. The ladies' craze for these vinaigrettes made them indispensable, but above all, transformed them into decorative objects, into accessories of refinement that had to be shown off, they were then worn like jewelry. Ladies kept it in their pocket or bag, but more often as a pendant around their neck so as not to be caught off guard Vermeil vinaigrette, 19th century. The vinaigrettes were then richly decorated with polychrome enamels, hard stones, natural materials, using nobler metals such as vermeil, with an absolutely incredible formal vocabulary, beetle, fruit, hand face, tiger claw, ring, droppings , suitcase, cornucopia, and even revolver. They then become fashionable objects. We must clearly differentiate between vinaigrettes, the use of which we have just seen, and salt bottles. The latter have another use, they contain an ammonia carbonate, whose very acidic odor causes it to react immediately. This process is used to resuscitate women. These fainting spells are mainly due to wearing very tight corsets which oppress the ribcage, but it is also likely that certain foul odors have the same result.