Sugar Bowl with Lid
Decorative Arts and Design
On View: American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, Radical Care
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, sugar from large plantations worked by enslaved Africans in Barbados and Jamaica was one of the most lucrative commodities for British merchants and landowners.
Myer Myers, the owner of the silver workshop in New York City where this covered sugar bowl was created, was the only Jewish silversmith in the city. Interpreting European forms in functional wares, he also supplied the city’s synagogues with ritual silver. During the eighteenth century, although there was a small community of American Sephardic Jews living in New York and Newport, prejudice against non-Christian beliefs was strong throughout the colonies.
Myer Myers, the owner of the silver workshop in New York City where this covered sugar bowl was created, was the only Jewish silversmith in the city. Interpreting European forms in functional wares, he also supplied the city’s synagogues with ritual silver. During the eighteenth century, although there was a small community of American Sephardic Jews living in New York and Newport, prejudice against non-Christian beliefs was strong throughout the colonies.
MEDIUM
Silver
DATES
ca. 1770–1795
DIMENSIONS
9 1/4 x 4 1/2 in. (23.5 x 11.4 cm)
weight (approximately): 390.87 grams (weighed by BMA conservation, plus or minus .10) (show scale)
MARKINGS
Myers (in script on rim of cover and bottom of urn)
COLLECTIONS
Decorative Arts and Design
ACCESSION NUMBER
52.154a-b
CREDIT LINE
Gift of Stephen Ensko
PROVENANCE
Prior to 1952, provenance not yet documented; by 1952, acquired by Stephen Guernsey Cook Ensko of New York, NY; 1952, gift of Stephen Guernsey Cook Ensko to the Brooklyn Museum.
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EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is on view in American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, Radical Care
CAPTION
Myer Myers (American, 1723–1795). Sugar Bowl with Lid, ca. 1770–1795. Silver, 9 1/4 x 4 1/2 in. (23.5 x 11.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Stephen Ensko, 52.154a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 52.154a-b_PS22.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 52.154a-b_PS22.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2024
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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