Wash Basin Set

Seen here on display is a wash basin, the only place in the entire house where you can wash/bath yourself. Within this set contains: a washbasin (center) used for washing the hands, face, and other parts of the body, a pitcher (top right) used to hold and pour water into the basin, a small container (bottom right), most likely used to hold soap, and jugs to either emptying dirty water from the basin, to hold toothbrushes, or any numbers of various uses. All of these items are made from porcelain and have blue decoration patterns. On your tour of the house there is not a shower or bath tub in the entire house. Full-body baths were not yet a daily routine for most and purpose built bathrooms were not yet common. Most people bathed in rather small quantities of water in their bedrooms with a basin and pitcher of cool water. Hands, face, armpits, and crotch were the essential regions and it was not necessary to be submerged in order to maintain a modicum of cleanliness.