Coffee pot c. 18th century

This pewter coffee pot was crafted by an anonymous maker. Without knowing its origins, it is difficult to pinpoint when and where it was made, or who might have used it. The cultural history of coffee is deeply entwined with global trade and colonialism. Coffee production relied on exploited labor, often that of enslaved people. Drinking coffee, in this context, became an act deeply embedded in complex social and economic structures. This coffee pot, then, exists as both a domestic object, but also as a symbol of a globalized world, and the social inequities that enabled the consumption habits of the few. It reflects a shared history of colonialism, and raises questions about the legacies of these histories in our contemporary moment.