Sugar Bowl

Art Historical Context

Nestled in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, this modest sugar bowl exemplifies the everyday artistry of 19th-century American pottery Crafted from redware earthenware around 1850–1900 by an unknown artist, it stands just 5½ inches (14 cm) tall, perfect for gracing a household table. Redware, fired from iron-rich clay that yields its signature warm reddish hue, was a staple of American folk pottery, often produced in small workshops across Pennsylvania, New England, and the Mid-Atlantic. During the Victorian era, sugar bowls like this one played a central role in domestic life, ...