Historical story

Chamber Vase:its Evolution in Versailles

Antique chamber pot in painted porcelain

For about two centuries, the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, to perform the same profane but essential function of the current water, was the small seat, a small portable wooden crate with a vase inside.

To make it more comfortable, the seat was padded, while to make it more elegant, to the point of becoming in some cases a décor object, the seat was lined with a fabric that could be more or less luxurious.

In Versailles, although the palace certainly did not shine either for hygiene or cleanliness (https://www.pilloledistoria.it/1569/storia-moderna/versailles-splendore-sporcizia), as far as the seats were concerned, no expense was spared:at court 264 were available, most of which were made with expensive materials and embellished with rich finishes.

At the court there were also chamber pots , which over time became more and more studied and aesthetically cared for; there was no shortage of silver and gold specimens , enriched with draperies, velvet cords, ribbons and inlays.

Obviously, all this concerned only the nobles, while the commoners had to be satisfied with decidedly simpler and more common chamber pots, whose contents were then thrown into the street without problems.