Sugar Bowl in the Shape of a Woman with a Basket

Meissener Porzellan Manufaktur, 1741

The basket, which contained the sugar, is held by a black woman. The figure is scantily clad, wearing only a cloth around her hips and head. The association between this black woman and sugar is a cruel one, given that sugar was mostly produced by enslaved people. When Black people are depicted in Meissen porcelain, it is almost always in a stereotypical and racist context.

  • Artwork typesugar box, eating & drinking utensils
  • Object numberBK-1979-131-A
  • Dimensionswidth 12 cm x depth 10 cm x width 9 cm x depth 7.3 cm, height 3.7 cm, height 16.7 cm