Schotel of bord met dansende beer c. 1774 - 1784

This plate depicting a dancing bear was made in Loosdrecht, though we don’t know exactly when. At first glance, it seems like a simple tableau, yet it encapsulates complex social dynamics of its time. The dancing bear motif points to the itinerant performers who roamed Europe, often Romani people, showcasing trained bears for entertainment. These performances existed on the margins, often viewed with suspicion by settled society. The plate, however, transforms this spectacle into a delicate scene, rendered in refined purple hues, thus domesticating the ‘wildness’ of the bear and its keepers. Consider how class and cultural perceptions intersect here: the porcelain itself speaks of wealth and status, a far cry from the lives of the traveling performers. The dancing bear, therefore, becomes a symbol of both entertainment and the subjugation of marginalized communities. It invites us to reflect on the power dynamics inherent in how we consume culture and the stories we choose to tell, or in this case, to plate.