This spun sugar piece-montée was made around 1867 by confectioner Jean Kowalsky, also known as Pierre (1832-1902), who had a shop in rue Marie-Thérèse (now rue Notre-Dame) in Luxembourg City. Confectioner Kowalsky made the piece for Hyacinthe Schaack (1830-1915), a professor at the Luxembourg Atheneum, possibly on the occasion of the First Communion of one of his daughters.

The spun sugar sculpture was built on a wire framework and mounted on a circular piece of blackened wood with tapered feet. It was protected by a conical glass globe. Attention to detail and quality of execution testify to the confectioner’s expertise: the flowers seem real, the landscape at the base of the structure stands out for its realism, especially in the realization of the miniature sheep surrounding the piece. The many sugar arabesques and decorations still impress viewers today.

Kept jealously in the Schaack family for over a century, the pièce-montée was finally bequeathed to the museum in 1971. It bears witness to the taste for exuberant decoration that was typical for cultural items produced in the second half of the 19th century. This taste is also reflected in how festive meals were decorated, for instance with items made of materials normally thought of as perishable. The state of conservation of this particular object is therefore exceptional. It is highly unusual for something made of edible material to be preserved for such a long time. One reason for the item’s longevity is probably that it was never moved over particularly long distances: its last owner was Lucien Schaack, priest at Saint-Michael’s Church, a few steps away from the museum.

- Régis Moes