Sugar caster 1735 - 1745

This sugar caster was created by the Meissen Manufactory, which was established in Germany in 1710, a time of great social change, from feudalism to mercantilism. Here we have a porcelain sculpture glazed in white and silver. The base depicts two embracing figures, who may be read as "Moors", one standing, one kneeling under an ornate, perforated dome. The figures' embrace seems tender, yet they are presented as a curiosity, part of an industry of sugar consumption. They are exoticized, made ‘other’ and presented as novelties for European consumption. These sugar casters reflect a European obsession with commodities produced through the exploitation of enslaved and colonized peoples. The intimate gesture between these figures is undermined by their reduction to mere decoration, their humanity obscured by the sweet substance they are made to serve. We are left to consider the cost of luxury.