Very rare form “Negro Boy Choking a Turkey” pewter ice cream mold by Eppelscheimer, c. 1880-1900.
A very rare form, this artifact is itself a sort of working metaphor of the process of commoditizing and infantilizing the black population in America during reconstruction and into the early 20th century via minstrel shows, quaint curios, comic books and postcards, etc.,
In a very real sense, this object itself creates and "molds" physical objects that narrate and reinforce the inequalities of the era. Often used for social gatherings, guests could stroll around eating and drinking delicacies, including ice cream shaped like a young negro catching the food to be prepared for their gathering. They could laugh at its quaintness. And while they smiled, very real black servants and domestics were in fact off in the kitchen killing the turkey or goose to serve to those eating objects made that celebrated and reinforced the existing power structure.
Eppelsheimer also produced a similar mold of a black male chef and black female cook, similarly occupied. You could have three scoops, each reminding everyone of “how things work ‘round here.”
Very nicely preserved, both sides present, still well hinged.
