Opaline and Gold Vinaigrette

Turquoise opal crystal vinaigrette.
The base and neck are cut into diamond points.
The body has almond patterns.
The hinged stopper is in embossed gold with leaf decoration.
It opens onto a grid 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 is growing, a certain comfort and a longer life span imply a new notion of "taking care of oneself", preserving oneself.

The cities are filling up, attracting new citizens by the comfort they can offer, but this is only relative, particularly in the treatment of waste water 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 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 credited with anti-mephitic 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 noxious vapors. In 1801, L.B 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.

To do this, it was necessary to find a system to transport these volatile vinegars, vinaigrettes were born, from the fly boxes and snuff boxes very common at that time, a modification is made by adding a small finely openwork grid, behind which a natural sponge soaked in this substance is protected.

The opening of the box allows the diffusion of odors and the closure preserves its properties. At first, they are of a discreet and plain size, then they display a decoration or take the form of a small bag, but remain objects that are hidden 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, they were then worn like jewelry.

The ladies kept it in their pocket or bag, but more often as a pendant around the neck so as not to be caught off guard

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It is important to differentiate between the vinaigrettes whose use we have just seen, and the salt bottles. The latter have another use, they contain an ammonia carbonate, whose very acidic odor, causes an immediate reaction. This process is used to resuscitate women. These fainting spells are mainly due to wearing very tight corsets that oppress the rib cage, but it is also likely that certain nauseating odors have the same result.

Ref: 9JGTWGY7SF