The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 19, 2025
Vanity Case (Nécessaire)
c. 1760
Gift of Howard F. Stirn 2009.69
Location: Not on view
Did You Know?
This small box contains gold-mounted writing instruments, including three ink wells, a fountain pen, a clasp knife, and tweezers.Description
Luxurious personal objects were an essential part of a privileged wardrobe during the 1700s and early 1800s, emphasizing their owner’s refinement and wealth. Jewelry, miniatures, and nécessaires—small expensive sets designed to hold grooming, writing, and sewing tools—were often given as intimate gifts, intended to be seen and admired. Their glittering surfaces, however, disguised a system based on the labor and suffering of enslaved or indentured people, whether in gold and stone mines or shops where these goods were made.- Duc de Brissac, Paris-2009Howard F. Stirn [1923-2016], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art2009-The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- British Gallery Reinstallation (June 2020). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
- {{cite web|title=Vanity Case (Nécessaire)|url=false|author=|year=c. 1760|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2009.69