Basin

This bowl is used for holding water when washing one’s face, hands or feet. It was placed under a chest along with other tools including a chamber pot. Washbasins are generally round, wide and flat and commonly made of brass. A brass basin, together with a brass chamber pot, was often given away with a bride’s hope chest. Affluent households would prepare a brass basin and chamber pot, while less wealthy households resorted to an earthenware basin and chamber pot. Brass was used for multiple purposes. Based on the method of production, brass was divided into forged brassware and cast brassware. The former was made by heating brass over a high temperature and forging it to a certain shape. Forged brassware cannot be easily warped, broken, or discolored, and also acquires fine luster with time. The brass basin shown here was made by forging. It has a relatively thin body frame and its bottom is slightly wider than the mouth and the rim is blunt. Some basins were placed on a wooden frame then used. The upper part of the basin stand was made in the shape of a circle in order for the rim of the basin to hang over the basin stand, and four legs were attached to the circular wooden frame. Wooden branches were added to the middle of the legs to be supported by the bottom of the basin.