Ice cream pail (one of a pair) 1730 - 1795

This ice cream pail was made at the Meissen Manufactory, famed for its porcelain, sometime in the 18th century. It's porcelain of course, with gilded bronze mounts. It has been decorated with tigers and blossoming branches What is most compelling about this object is how it encapsulates the era's fascination with luxury and exoticism. Porcelain production was a painstaking, secretive process back then, a true technological breakthrough closely tied to the dynamics of courtly power and wealth. The meticulous hand-painted decorations, combined with the extravagance of the gilded bronze, speak volumes about the skill involved, and the value placed on the objects. This wasn’t just tableware, it was a display of status, reflecting a culture of consumption enabled by global trade and colonial extraction. So, when you look at this ice cream pail, consider not only its beauty, but also the complex social and economic forces that brought it into being. It's a reminder that even the most refined objects are products of their time, deeply embedded in wider issues of labor, politics, and consumption.