Caster with cover 1730 - 1745

Editor: Here we have an adorable "Caster with cover," a French porcelain piece crafted sometime between 1730 and 1745. It’s currently residing at the Met. The detail on the cover is intricate but I'm just not sure how the top ties in with the rest of it. What do you think, how does it speak to you? Curator: Well, it's shouting "Baroque Sugar!" to me, or maybe "Stylish Spice!". Imagine powdered sugar cascading from that beauty. What if those stylized floral decorations weren't just decorative but also alluded to the flavors within, maybe roses and citrus. Editor: Wow, I love that interpretation. The flowers *are* almost stylized to the point of being abstract. Curator: The ceramic feels delicate and precious doesn't it? I almost think these are precious items because you could have that perfect tea party that looks oh so wonderful but breaks as easily as that fragile ceramic itself. It's kind of exciting, right? How all those patterns repeat too—notice the flowers at the bottom too? It pulls everything together even when things feel quite disparate. Editor: Yeah, I’m seeing it now. All of a sudden that top feels almost essential to pulling together all of that ornate flair. Curator: Exactly! And each layer gives you a sense of both purpose, and also a sense of the pure unbridled fun of artistry and ornamentation that’s so central to baroque art. It almost feels mischievous! It makes me wonder: If I had lived back then, what treasures might I have kept hidden inside? Editor: That's an amazing thought. Now I wonder, what untold secrets it might hold. I'm so glad I learned how its playfulness connects it to the era in which it was made. Curator: Me too! Art history feels much less boring when we treat objects as partners.