The Century vase illustrated below was originally exhibited at the 1876 Centennial International Exposition in Philadelphia, where it stood among other patriotic displays of technical achievement. A smaller version of the piece shown at the fair, the vessel on view in the gallery replicates the original’s nationalist iconography, depicting Revolutionary War heroes and scenes of Western conquest. Roberto Lugo has reinterpreted the iconic vase from his perspective as an artist of Puerto Rican descent. He interrogates the history portrayed in the nineteenth-century vase, highlighting the ongoing violence of American colonialism and its legacy. His depiction of iconic Black cultural figures on porcelain challenges assumptions about which historical figures deserve commemoration.

Karl L. Müller for Union Porcelain Works, Century vase, 1876, Porcelain with paint and gilt decoration, 22 1/2 x 12 x 12 in., High Museum of Art, Virginia Carroll Crawford Collection, 1986.163, photo courtesy High Museum of Art