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Jug

Creator Name

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Unknown

Cultural Context

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Chinese

Date

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19th century

About the work

Curationist LogoCurationist Object Description
Originally made to hold cider, this jug was used to serve drinking chocolate in the style of wealthy patrons from colonial Mexico. Cacao, indigenous to the region, was mixed with water, spices, and honey. The production of cacao among other crops native to the Americas fueled the global expansion of European colonialism. This jug was used by persons who made their wealth off a trade that continues to have repercussions today.
Brooklyn Museum Object Description
Cider jug (a); barrel-shaped body, with separate cover (b). Cross-strapped handle attached to body with leaf decoration. Circular sepia medallion on each side of center body showing architectural view, polychrome floral and fruit bands on upper part of body and on lid. Gilded lion finial. Gilded ground. CONDITION: Chipped.

VESSELS FOR CHOCOLATE
In New Spain and in the Caribbean, chocolate was the preferred elite beverage. An Italian traveler in the late eighteenth century noted that “all over the kingdom of Mexico it is the practice to drink chocolate twice a day.... The first [time] is early in the morning—many times they drink it in bed. The second time it is taken is around [4 p.m.].”

Before the ...

Work details

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Title

Jug

Creator

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Unknown

Worktype

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Culinary equipment
Vessel

Cultural Context

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Chinese

Material

Porcelain

Dimensions

Height: 10 1/4 in. (26 cm) Diameter of base: 4 1/4 in. (10.8 cm)

Technique

--

Language

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Date

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19th century
Jiaqing Period

Provenance

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Gift of the Wyckoff Family
Gift of the Wyckoff Family, Nov 01, 1941; Prior to 1814, provenance not yet documented; before 1814, reportedly purchased in China by Captain John Ebbets of Brooklyn, NY; by 1814, reportedly gift of Captain John Ebbets to Folkert Wyckoff of Brooklyn; 1814, inherited from Folkert Wyckoff by the Wyckoff family; November 1, 1941, gift of the Wyckoff family to the Brooklyn Museum.

Style Period

--

Rights

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Creative Commons Attribution
Creative Commons-BY

Inscription

Under spout (in script, in gold): "F.W."

Location

China

Subjects

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Chocolate; Floral motif; Chinese export porcelain

Topic

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Spice Trade

Curationist Metadata Contributors

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Christina Stone

All Works in Curationist’s archives can be reproduced and used freely. How to attribute this Work:

Unknown, Jug, 1800–1810. Brooklyn Museum. The evolution of cacao, produced, consumed, and traded during the colonial period of the Americas, is epitomized through this vessel. Creative Commons Attribution.

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