Shanks & Co Ltd, Patentees Victorian Pottery Barrhead

Many thanks to Debbie Hanson for sending these photographs of an unusual item with a mystery use.

This white enamelled fireclay ‘sink’ was manufactured by Shanks & Co Ltd, Barrhead, Scotland sometime after 1898.
On the underside, you can see a circle of drain holes. The typical bend which would have surrounded these holes and acted as a link to the soakaway has broken off.
The water inlet (one inlet only) appears to be on the underside on an edge of the sink. This appears to channel the water internally within the sink structure itself and empties into the bowl via a 2 row of different sized holes. This initial bole area is partitioned off from the drain area by a ridged section but there is a hole between the two to allow water to drain from the bowl to the drain.
There is also a scooped out area to take a soap bar.
Could it have been used in a mortuary or medical set up? Some sort of sluice? A foot bath?

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Below – 1938 – Shanks catalogue. There is no exact match in the catalogue to the design of the item on this page but a foot bath is looking a good possibility. (I have a 1951 Shanks catalogue and that too does not have the design being discussed here).

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