Chocolate Cup
1690-1695 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The rich decoration of this gilded chocolate cup reflects the expense and high status of this hot drink in 17th century Britain. Chocolate first reached Britain in the 1650s and was marketed as a luxury product. European ceramic and silver manufacturers were quick to start designing utensils for this new beverage, and sometimes included silver cups in toilet sets. Elegant lidded chocolate cups, such as this one, often came in pairs and would have been used by fashionable men and women.
Chocolate is made from the pod of the cacao tree which is native to central America. The tree was transplanted to West Africa and the New World colonies by transatlantic traders where it was cultivated using slave labour. The arrival of chocolate, and other exotic substances in Britain, represented the third and final leg of the "Triangular Trade." The trade triangle was a three legged network where manufactured European goods were traded for people on the west coast of Africa. These people would then be shipped across the Atlantic to work in British New World colonies as slaves producing raw materials that would then travel back across the Atlantic to Britain.
Chocolate is made from the pod of the cacao tree which is native to central America. The tree was transplanted to West Africa and the New World colonies by transatlantic traders where it was cultivated using slave labour. The arrival of chocolate, and other exotic substances in Britain, represented the third and final leg of the "Triangular Trade." The trade triangle was a three legged network where manufactured European goods were traded for people on the west coast of Africa. These people would then be shipped across the Atlantic to work in British New World colonies as slaves producing raw materials that would then travel back across the Atlantic to Britain.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 3 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Silver gilt |
| Brief description | Silver-gilt chocolate cup with stand, England, London, unidentified maker, engraving attributed to Blaise Gentot, 1690-1695 |
| Physical description | Silver-gilt chocolate cup and stand with engraved design and applied styalised leaf cut-card work. The cup, cover and stand are engraved with floral scrolls. On the cup grotesque designs engraved with on the stand a hunting scene with stag and hounds. The borders of all three pieces are gadrooned. The cast scroll handles terminate in a zoomorphic head. The cover is surmounted with a rosebud finial. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | FSS crowned mark in shaped shield for unidentified maker |
| Gallery label | Text written about this object for 'Uncomfortable Truths / Traces of the Trade' gallery trails (Trail 1: 'Consuming the Black Atlantic'), 20 February - 31 December 2007. Helen Mears & Janet Browne.
'CHOCOLATE POT AND STAND / Chocolate was first used by the Mayan and Aztec peoples of Central America. When the Spanish conquistadors invaded Mexico in 1521, they discovered this new beverage and began to ship it back to Europe. For many years chocolate remained an expensive and exclusive commodity. In France it was controlled by state monopoly and restricted to members of the court.
The manufacturers of porcelain and silverware took advantge of the craze for chocolate to create new utensils. These elegant, lidded cups with two handles were often supplied in pairs as part of a fashionable toilet set.
Even in the 21st century, slavery is still part of cocoa production. Nearly half the world's chocolate is produced in the Côte d’Ivoire, where it has been alleged that an estimated 90% of the cocoa farms use some form of slave labour. Many of the slaves are children from the poorer neighbouring countries of Mali, Burkino Faso, Benin and Togo.'(20/02/2007) |
| Summary | The rich decoration of this gilded chocolate cup reflects the expense and high status of this hot drink in 17th century Britain. Chocolate first reached Britain in the 1650s and was marketed as a luxury product. European ceramic and silver manufacturers were quick to start designing utensils for this new beverage, and sometimes included silver cups in toilet sets. Elegant lidded chocolate cups, such as this one, often came in pairs and would have been used by fashionable men and women. Chocolate is made from the pod of the cacao tree which is native to central America. The tree was transplanted to West Africa and the New World colonies by transatlantic traders where it was cultivated using slave labour. The arrival of chocolate, and other exotic substances in Britain, represented the third and final leg of the "Triangular Trade." The trade triangle was a three legged network where manufactured European goods were traded for people on the west coast of Africa. These people would then be shipped across the Atlantic to work in British New World colonies as slaves producing raw materials that would then travel back across the Atlantic to Britain. |
| Associated objects | |
| Bibliographic reference | Schroder, Timothy. British and Continental Gold and Silver in the Ashmolean Museum. 3 vols. Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2009. ISBN 9781854442208 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.6:1 to 3-1992 |
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| Record created | November 4, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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