A little makeover
The revival of the antique wash basin
Today, I wish to show you another find from the antique market in Arezzo, Tuscany, where I commute on a monthly basis as long as the weather permits. Even if I don’t find anything to buy, I love the atmosphere of this lovely Tuscan town and, above all, chit-chatting with my friend Lili, who holds a booth here and sells refurbished items from her studio.
On a beautiful sunny day in Arezzo, as the vendors were getting ready to pack their stuff and close the booths, what caught my attention was this brightly painted red antique wash basin, standing tall but a bit shy, waiting for someone to take her home.
“Wow, this will be perfect for my new bathroom,” I thought. The recently finished bathroom, which was previously an old walk-in closet, needed some functional pieces to store my bathroom nicknacks. A quick Google search showed that, before the days of indoor plumbing, washstands like this with a wash basin and a pitcher were a fixture in many bedrooms throughout much of the 18th and early 19th centuries.
I flipped the back of this vintage enamel wash basin bowl and found a script “Due Lei 32” with a logo of two lions hauling at each other. According to my findings, Due Leoni (Two Lions) of Bassano is an Italian company founded in 1925 specializing in the production of enamel products. The pitcher was replaced with some junk, but Lili has confirmed that the enamel basin and the stand are real vintage, most likely dating back to 1932. What a find!
As sunset approached and the market was nearing its end, I paid EUR50 with a EUR10 discount and happily brought this vintage red wash basin home. I then did a photo shoot next to the previously refurbished French antique bathroom cabinet, which Lili has also refurbished. Oh, what a great match! Off she went to Lili’s workshop studio in Campania for a total makeover!
My romantic encounter with vintage wash stand is through the impressionist paintings, especially those of Mary Cassatt, whose works I absolutely admire. I threw away the junk pitcher but maybe can find something to replace it?
Women Bathing, 1891. National Gallery of Art, DC.
The Child’s Bath, 1892. Art Institute of Chicago
Few weeks later, Lili sent me a photo of the total makeover - looking much more elegant and refreshed!
This vintage basin became a cute little helper in the bathroom, where I put my makeup, mirror, hair brush, etc., and sometimes hang towels.
Vintage furnishings bring such charm, especially as they are all practical and functional, not just decorative. One’s imagination can find other uses for it, too, - as I’ve seen in front of a vegetarian restaurant in Orvieto!