Sugar Box 1705 - 1715

This is John Coney's "Sugar Box," crafted from silver, its exact date remains unknown. Coney, a prominent Boston silversmith, lived during a time when the British colonies were solidifying their economic structures, often upon the backs of enslaved labor. Consider the intense history that accompanies this object. Sugar, once a rare delicacy, was made affordable through the brutal exploitation of enslaved people on Caribbean plantations. This box, a symbol of luxury and status for its owner, embodies the stark inequalities of the colonial era. Who had access to it, who was excluded from it, and at what cost? The elegance of the silver belies the bitter reality of its origins. The sugar box sits as both an art object and a historical artifact. It invites reflection on the interconnectedness of beauty, wealth, and injustice. How does beholding this object make you feel? What responsibilities do we inherit when we become witnesses to this history?