Miniature Bathroom Chair (Bidet)

1908–17

Miniature Bathroom Chair (Bidet), 1908–17. Henrik Wigström (Russian, 1862–1923), House of Fabergé (Russian, 1842–1918). Gold, nephrite, enamel, pearls; overall: 8.3 x 3.5 x 4.5 cm (3 1/4 x 1 3/8 x 1 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The India Early Minshall Collection 1966.455 The giving of small precious objects as intimate gifts between family members within the imperial court was spurred by the House of Fabergé's seemingly endless supply of bejeweled utilitarian objects decorated as expensively as possible, such as this stamp moistener disguising as an exquisite miniature bathroom chair (bidet) in the Louis XVI taste of the late 1700s. The seat of this miniature bathroom chair cleverly opens to reveal a small compartment probably containing a damp sponge or ball of cotton to moisten stamps on a desk.