Resumen de Victorian Gothic furniture and personal hygiene: The case of washstands
Old English proverbs such as Cleanliness keeps away from diseases and mental sickness or Cleanliness is the way to be healthy, wealthy and wise are indicative of the importance of the concept of cleanliness and especially of the personal hygiene in British culture and have their roots in the early decades of the nineteenth century. This article aims at an in-depth social analysis of the importance of personal hygiene during the multifaceted Victorian period in England and, by extension, the reappearance of the washhand stands since the medieval times in the form of washstands under the new ideological and aesthetic suggestions of the Neo Gothic or Victorian Gothic style in furniture. At the same time, the upgraded social, moral and aesthetic significance of the washstands is sought in both the upcoming middle and high Victorian class, while the importance of the extraordinary washstands of the great architect and designer William Burges, obviously influenced by the medieval design principles of the Arts and Crafts Movement, is strongly highlighted.
