Coffee Pot 1771 - 1772

This is a silver coffee pot, made in London in the 18th century by Francis Crump. Crump worked during a period when the consumption of coffee, tea, and chocolate was becoming increasingly fashionable and enmeshed with Britain's colonial ambitions. Reflect on the global context of this coffeepot. Consider the labor and resources extracted from colonized lands to fuel Britain's fashionable beverages. It reflects the complex relationship between luxury and exploitation, and how commodities can embody power dynamics. Silver itself often extracted from colonized lands, underlines the economic systems which the pot depended on. Imagine the hands that poured from it, and those whose labor made its contents possible. The coffee pot serves as a potent reminder of how everyday objects can be deeply intertwined with historical narratives of colonialism, trade, and social class.