French Renaissance Basin in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2016

Basin (Réchaud)

Date:mid-16th century

Culture:French, Saint-Porchaire or Paris

Medium:Lead-glazed earthenware (white pottery)

Dimensions:5-3/4 x 8 in. (14.6 x 20.3 cm)

Classification:Ceramics-Pottery

Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917

Accession Number:17.190.1741

The shape suggests a chafing dish (réchaud in French). Food was kept warm in a separate receptacle placed atop the basin, which would have been filled with water heated by a brazier stored in the pedestal. However, the fragility of the Museum’s basin indicates that it served a purely decorative purpose. The purple-and green pillars and the large-scale floral motifs on a brown ground are unique to this piece.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/194244