Sugar bowl with cover 1755 - 1765

This is a soft-paste porcelain sugar bowl with a cover, made by the Mennecy factory in France. While we don’t know the exact date of its creation, these decorative objects gained popularity in eighteenth-century Europe, reflecting a burgeoning global trade and its impact on social customs. Sugar, once a rare luxury, became a staple, deeply entwined with the colonial exploitation of labor. The bowl’s delicate floral patterns evoke a sense of pastoral tranquility, yet they mask the harsh realities of sugar production. Consider the juxtaposition: the refined aesthetics of European aristocracy, enabled by the suffering of enslaved people in the Caribbean. How do we reconcile the beauty of this object with the brutal history it represents? This sugar bowl invites us to reflect on the complex intersections of luxury, labor, and the legacies of colonialism.