Sugar box (one of a pair) 1755 - 1765

This exquisite porcelain sugar box was crafted at the Nymphenburg Manufactory around the mid-18th century. The figure of a blackamoor draped with pearls and a feathered crown is the dominant symbol here, evocative of exoticism and the visual shorthand for the "Orient" that was fashionable at the time. It’s impossible not to see the echoes of similar figures in Venetian art, such as paintings by Veronese, where black servants were depicted in subservient roles, symbols of wealth and global reach. The sugar itself, often produced by enslaved people, becomes a poignant, albeit silent, witness to the complex dance of power and desire. The image reminds me of the 'triumph of death' motif in Renaissance paintings. The emotional impact of this figure is a complex one. Is it admiration, exploitation, or something in between? Our subconscious reactions are a palimpsest of cultural history. The symbol is cyclical, surfacing again and again, yet changing with each telling.