Slave Ship Potpourri Boat

Roberto Lugo identifies as a potter, social activist, spoken word poet, and educator. He often uses the traditionally luxurious medium of porcelain to honor the identities of individuals whose faces are seldom represented in such formats, combining historic forms with imagery that explores issues such as poverty, inequality, and social and racial injustice. In this earthenware vessel he powerfully reinterprets an 18th-century potpourri boat in the Walters’ collections made by Sèvres, a French manufacturer of luxury porcelains, to become a slave ship, reminding the viewer of the forced labor that underpinned the wealth of North American and European elites in this era.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Commissioned by the Walters Art Museum, 2018; purchased by Walters Art Museum, 2018.