Cover of a chocolate pot with a landscape and garlands c. 1770 - 1775

This is a porcelain chocolate pot cover, decorated with landscapes and garlands, made by Porseleinfabriek Ludwigsburg. Chocolate pots like this one were common in wealthy European households, representing a confluence of global trade, class status, and colonial history. Chocolate, derived from cacao grown in the Americas and often produced by enslaved labor, became a coveted luxury item in Europe. The European landscape painted on this cover is not only picturesque but also tells a story of ownership and control, contrasting with the exploited landscapes and labor of the colonies that made chocolate consumption possible. The garlands add another layer, symbolizing celebration and abundance, yet obscuring the realities of exploitation behind the product. This cover, therefore, becomes a symbol of both the pleasures and the problematic foundations of 18th-century European society.