Artigo “Higiene: algumas práticas no corpo e na casa”, por Erica de Oliveira
Standards of hygiene are quite relative according to time, society and place, and involve different technologies, materials, and practices. Today, we are accustomed to dealing with household hygiene rules regarding food and the body rather determined by what is considered healthy but also by what is aesthetically acceptable. Therefore, patterns directly tied to a certain concept of what is cleaning and filth. The Museum of the Brazilian House has in its collection some pieces related to the hygiene practices in the house, among them: a jug and a basin (used together) and a toilet seat (or sanitary chair) – images 1, 2 and 3. In this article, we will talk a little about how these objects were used, what hygiene parameters were involved, and their relationship with the house and the body.
Click here to read the full article in portuguese.
* Erica de Oliveira is an analyst at the Center for Preservation and Research at the Museu da Casa Brasileira, a master’s degree student in the Postgraduate Program in Social History at the University of São Paulo, a Bachelor in History (2014), and a Museology Technician at the Paula Souza Center ). He has been working in Documentation and Management of Museological Collections since 2008 and with the production of museological exhibitions. He has integrated collections cataloging teams at the Museum of Image and Sound (MIS), Pedagogical Historical Museum Bernadino de Campos, Museum of Sacred Art and other documentation projects. He worked in the Object Service of the Museu Paulista, where he was also a member of the Technical Administrative Commission and the Director Council of the Museum as a student representative. In addition, she was a researcher of the Truth Commission of the University of São Paulo as a FAPESP grant holder during the authoritarian regime: forms of control and resistance at the University of São Paulo, 1964 – 1982.
