Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
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. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Commissioned by the Walters Art Museum, 2018; purchased by Walters Art Museum, 2018.
Geographies
United States (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 11 1/2 × W: 9 × D: 3 1/2 in. (29.21 × 22.86 × 8.89 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds provided by the W. Alton Jones Foundation Acquisition Fund, 2018
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
48.2882