Reuk: vrouw naast een dampende pot 1670 - 1713

Pieter Schenk created this mezzotint titled "Reuk: vrouw naast een dampende pot," or "Smell: woman next to a steaming pot," around the turn of the 18th century. During this period, the Dutch Republic was a major center for trade and wealth. The image of a woman tending to a steaming pot might appear domestic, yet it also speaks to the global exchange of spices and aromatics which defined Dutch commerce. The woman, adorned in an elaborate gown, is positioned in a way that suggests both luxury and labor. Is she a merchant’s wife, engaging with the tools of trade, or is she a servant, attending to the olfactory desires of the wealthy? The scent rising from the pot becomes a symbol of both privilege and the complex dynamics of gender, class, and colonial trade.