Sugar Caster
1690-1715 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
In its form this intriguing object seems to imitate a European sugar caster. There is no mechanism, however, to fix the lid to the body, making it useless as a container for shaking sugar. Two interpretations come to mind. The first is that it was made as a purely decorative item to stand on a shelf. Europeans loved blue-and-white porcelain from China and ordered all sorts of objects to ornament their homes. The second is that there was an error during manufacture. Chinese potters had probably never seen western sugar casters and did not understand their function. They were, on the other hand, familiar with another kind of vessel with a pierced lid, the incense burner. Incense burners, like this vessel, had lids that did not need to be attached to their lower sections.
Time
By the late 17th century large quantities of sugar were being shipped from the West Indies to England. Wealthy people served this luxury product from beautiful vessels made of silver or porcelain.
In its form this intriguing object seems to imitate a European sugar caster. There is no mechanism, however, to fix the lid to the body, making it useless as a container for shaking sugar. Two interpretations come to mind. The first is that it was made as a purely decorative item to stand on a shelf. Europeans loved blue-and-white porcelain from China and ordered all sorts of objects to ornament their homes. The second is that there was an error during manufacture. Chinese potters had probably never seen western sugar casters and did not understand their function. They were, on the other hand, familiar with another kind of vessel with a pierced lid, the incense burner. Incense burners, like this vessel, had lids that did not need to be attached to their lower sections.
Time
By the late 17th century large quantities of sugar were being shipped from the West Indies to England. Wealthy people served this luxury product from beautiful vessels made of silver or porcelain.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Porcelain, decorated in underglaze cobalt blue and pierced |
| Brief description | Sugar caster and lid, porcelain painted in underglaze blue, China, Jingdezhen, Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), 1690-1715 |
| Physical description | Sugar caster and lid of porcelain, cylindrical shape with knop at head. The bottom half decroated in blue with a landscape scene. The top lid decorated with a repeating, pierced pattern. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | The Salting Bequest |
| Object history | Bequeathed by Mr. George Salting, accessioned in 1910. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. Made in Jingdezhen, China;; |
| Production | Kangxi reign period |
| Summary | Object Type In its form this intriguing object seems to imitate a European sugar caster. There is no mechanism, however, to fix the lid to the body, making it useless as a container for shaking sugar. Two interpretations come to mind. The first is that it was made as a purely decorative item to stand on a shelf. Europeans loved blue-and-white porcelain from China and ordered all sorts of objects to ornament their homes. The second is that there was an error during manufacture. Chinese potters had probably never seen western sugar casters and did not understand their function. They were, on the other hand, familiar with another kind of vessel with a pierced lid, the incense burner. Incense burners, like this vessel, had lids that did not need to be attached to their lower sections. Time By the late 17th century large quantities of sugar were being shipped from the West Indies to England. Wealthy people served this luxury product from beautiful vessels made of silver or porcelain. |
| Bibliographic reference | Kerr, Rose and Luisa E. Mengoni Chinese Export Ceramics London: V&A Publishing, 2011.
p.25, pl.19 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.772&A-1910 |
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| Record created | March 27, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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