Sugar Box 1818 - 1848

This covered sugar box was made by George Richardson in the United States sometime in the first half of the 19th century. The box is made of pewter and is raised on a pedestal foot with a hinged lid. At the time it was made, sugar was becoming more widely available, yet it remained a luxury item closely associated with the entrenched system of slavery in the West Indies. For abolitionists, even purchasing sugar was a political act that supported a deeply immoral enterprise. During this period, American artists and writers were increasingly questioning the social structures of their time. We see the box not just as a domestic object, but as an artifact that embodies social and economic tensions of the era. Through careful archival research, we can begin to understand how even the simplest objects can reveal the complex interplay between art, society, and history.