Jug with cover 1729 - 1730

Editor: Here we have "Jug with cover" created around 1729-1730 by Paul de Lamerie, crafted in silver. It’s currently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The piece is quite elegant, but feels very functional; I am drawn to the intricate handle and the engraved crest. How do you interpret this work from a materialist perspective? Curator: Considering this jug through a materialist lens reveals a great deal about 18th-century society. Silver wasn’t easily accessible; its transformation into this ornate vessel reflects both technical skill and economic power. Who would have commissioned such a piece, and what kind of labor was involved in the extraction, refining, and crafting of the silver? Editor: That makes me wonder, given the elaborate design, whether it was purely functional or meant more as a status symbol? I mean, did people actually use this daily, or was it primarily display? Curator: Good question! Even though it looks usable, this jug, adorned with Baroque embellishments and a prominent crest, probably communicated the commissioner's elite status more than catering to pure utility. Think about the access to materials. Do you consider the cost of such production a driver of the high social status associated with owning one? Editor: So the material itself is a form of language, signifying power and privilege through the skilled labor involved in its making? The fact that the material had to be extracted, refined, then skillfully wrought. Curator: Precisely. Looking closely, we should ask, What does the very material tell us about consumption patterns, social stratification, and artistic production in the Baroque era? Editor: Fascinating! It reframes how I view decorative arts, placing the emphasis on materiality, labour and social dynamics of its time rather than purely on aesthetic qualities. Curator: Indeed! By thinking of art and production, we challenge ourselves to look beyond the surface and see these objects as products and producers of history.