SUGAR & CHOCOLATE
(right side)
Originating about 10,000 years ago in New Guinea, sugar cane is now produced in more than 110 countries, with an annual crop totaling 180 million metric tons. In 1700s Europe, the popularity of coffee, tea, and chocolate rapidly escalated sugar consumption, simultaneously increasing the amount of land cleared for its cultivation and the number of humans enslaved for its production. Made from cocoa beans, chocolate first developed in the Americas as a savory, spicy beverage. Cocoa was unpopular when Spanish colonists first brought it to Europe, but with the addition of sugar, demand soared for sweet creations made with chocolate.
Art collectors and sisters Lucy Truman Aldrich (1869–1955) and Abby Greene Aldrich Rockefeller (1874–1948) established some of the most important collections at the RISD Museum, including Aldrich’s assemblage of nearly 150 18th-century European porcelain figures. Throughout this gallery are examples from this collection depicting people engaged in everyday activities such as breaking eggs and picking apples—possibly preparing ingredients for a sweet dessert.
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