Sugar bowl with cover 1727

This is a sugar bowl with a cover, crafted in the late 17th or early 18th century by Simon Pantin I. The piece speaks to the burgeoning culture of refinement and global trade in England at the time. The bowl's material and design create meaning beyond its function. Gold suggests luxury and status, reflecting sugar's transformation from rare spice to increasingly available commodity. Note the engraved Royal Cypher, likely for King Charles, which signals the owner's loyalty and social position. The bowl thus becomes more than a simple tableware item; it represents a complex web of social relations, economic forces, and political allegiances. Understanding this sugar bowl requires research into the history of sugar consumption, the economics of the silver trade, and the social rituals of the English elite. Only through such investigations can we fully appreciate the object's historical significance. Art's meaning is always contingent on its specific social and institutional context.