Creamer 1793 - 1798

This Creamer was crafted in the late 18th century by James Adam, amidst a period of burgeoning wealth and social stratification in Britain. Made of silver, its elegant form and refined details speak to the era’s obsession with status and display. This was a time when access to goods like sugar, tea, and by extension, cream, were deeply enmeshed with colonial exploitation and the slave trade. The intimacy of pouring cream from such a vessel belies the brutal systems that enabled its existence. Note the engraved crest which signifies the commissioner’s lineage. This creamer performed status, announcing its owner's belonging to the British gentry. Consider the emotional distance inherent in such objects. They gloss over the painful truths of history, reminding us to question what stories are told, and whose voices remain unheard.