Slop Bowl 1848 - 1856

Curator: Here we have a Slop Bowl created sometime between 1848 and 1856 by the Charles Cartlidge and Company. It’s made of earthenware and currently resides here at The Met. Editor: It looks… polite. The delicate floral pattern gives it a genteel, almost mournful feel. Like it’s quietly bearing witness to a long-lost etiquette. I almost expect to smell the faint whiff of tea leaves and bygone conversations. Curator: It’s fascinating to consider how such objects were integral to social rituals of the mid-19th century. Slop bowls, specifically, were meant to receive the dregs from tea or coffee cups. Can you imagine needing a designated bowl just for that purpose today? Editor: No, but that speaks to the intentionality and presentation, right? Nothing accidental. This is designed and constructed to make waste itself… pretty! Like taming chaos. Curator: Exactly! The meticulous detailing – those hand-painted floral motifs – underscore the cultural value placed on refinement. Charles Cartlidge and Company aimed to manufacture affordable wares for the American market and this is a classic example of meeting demand while offering sophisticated styling. Editor: The grayscale image throws a bit of shadow on the floral print – I almost think it could work as a cool ink illustration. Curator: Certainly! These objects allowed families to enact social scripts in their daily life. By manufacturing beautiful objects, they democratized good taste, one vessel at a time. Editor: And somehow even with the digital renderings we have access to these days, viewing the actual object helps highlight these nuances of its historic functionality and cultural implications, wouldn’t you say? Curator: Absolutely! Getting face to face with our history is essential in allowing art to take on a different life and context through each generation. Editor: That’s why this particular bowl is interesting. Curator: Indeed.