Finger Bowls (Set of Six)
Maker
Tiffany & Company
(American, founded 1837)
Date1883
MediumSterling silver
DimensionsOverall: 5 1/4in. (13.3cm)
ClassificationsCONTAINERS
Credit LineMuseum Purchase, in part, with the Sarah T. Norris Fund
Terms
Object number95.6.1-6
DescriptionSet of six silver finger bowls with all-over repousse pattern. Flare at top and scalloped edge. There is a high-relief design of birds, ferns, and leaves (possibly oak leaves); gilded interiors.On View
Not on viewCollections
Copyright<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>.
Label TextAs dictated by nineteenth-century etiquette books, finger bowls were an important dinner table accoutrement. Produced in silver, glass, or ceramic, they provided a genteel way for guests to wash their fingertips if they had become soiled during the meal.
Fingerbowls are explicitly addressed in advice books indicating the confusion that often surrounded their usage. They were brought out before the fruit and dessert course so diners could freshen up.
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“When finger bowls are sent around, dip a clean corner of your napkin into the water, and wet your lips with it. . . . Dip you fingers into the glass, rub them with the slice of lemon, or the orange leaf that may be floating on the surface, and then wipe them on the napkin.”
--Eliza Leslie, The Ladies’ Guide to True Politeness and Perfect Manners; or, Miss Leslie’s Behavior Book, 1864.
“Don’t dip the whole hand into the finger bowl, but touch the water merely with the tips of the fingers.”
--Lille d’Angelo Bergh et al, Correct Social Usage, 1906.
“We have heard of a man who saw finger-glasses for the first time in his life, when dining at one of the New York Hotels. A slice of lemon floating on top, he took up the bowl and drank the water, exclaiming as he set it down—‘Well, if this isn’t the poorest lemonade I ever tasted.’”
--Eliza Leslie, The Ladies’ Guide to True Politeness and Perfect Manners; or, Miss Leslie’s Behavior Book, 1864.
