ASMR at the museum | Massaging hands with bath rasps from Iran | V&A

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Watch and listen as curator Fuchsia Hart unboxes a selection of late 17th and early 18th century ceramic bath rasps from Iran.

Follow Fuchsia as she shows us how these luxury self-care objects would have been used in the bathhouse – much like a foot file – to massage and remove dead skin. When handled, the objects create a gentle tinkling noise. Fuschia investigates what might be making the sound, before taking a look at X-rays which reveal what is inside.

0.00 What are bath rasps?
0.59 Unboxing / setting the scene at the Iranian bathhouse 
1.47 Egg-shaped bath rasp with textured sprigs – handling, hearing it rattle
3.17 Duck bath rasp with stippled base – handling, hearing it rattle
3.56 Why do bath rasps rattle?
4.19 Shoe-shaped bath rasp with smooth bottom – handling, no rattle
5.41 Teardrop-shaped bath rasp with cross-hatched base – handling, no rattle
6.30 Cypress bath rasp – tracing wavy lines on the base, hearing it rattle
8.31 X-ray reveal of what is inside
9.54 Glazed bath rasps as elite objects / self-care

More ASMR at the museum:    • ASMR at the museum  

Discover more in our Islamic Middle East collection: https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/isl...