Écuelle with cover 1723 - 1727

Editor: Here we have Johann Daniel Schäffler’s Écuelle with cover, dating from around 1723-1727. It’s crafted from silver, and you can find it at the Metropolitan Museum. I'm struck by the intricacy; it feels like pure, luxurious indulgence. What catches your eye? Curator: Ah, indulgence, exactly! It's all froth and flourish. I think about what this object whispers to us about the past. Imagine powdered wigs, whispered secrets over lukewarm consommés. Does it strike you as purely functional, or is there something else at play here? Editor: Definitely not just functional. I mean, look at the handles and the detail on the lid. It feels like it’s performing luxury, right? Almost like a tiny stage. Curator: Precisely! It's Baroque excess distilled into a soup tureen. Look at the chasing – it's like visual frosting. Almost too beautiful to use! I sometimes wonder if these artists saw themselves as chefs, plating up beauty alongside the culinary offering. The plate especially has a reflective quality to it that enhances the experience, don't you think? Editor: Totally. It's less about the silver itself, and more about what it represents, this aspirational lifestyle. The matching plate amplifies that feeling, too! All that detailing is so mesmerising. Curator: Yes! Thinking about it that way reframes our understanding. It prompts one to wonder if we today have such ornate everyday objects. This piece reveals so much about the society that spawned it! Editor: Absolutely. I initially thought "pretty silver bowl," but now I’m considering the social theater behind every slurp of soup!