This beer pitcher depicts a white man assaulting a Chinese immigrant, a scene adapted from the 1870 poem 'Heathen Chinee' by Bret Harte (1836-1902). The poet intended to critique discrimination faced by Chinese laborers, particularly in the railroad industry. When this pitcher debuted at the 1876 World's Fair in Philadelphia, the design became a bestseller--probably due to the increasing appeal of racist illustrations on household objects in this period. The popularity of works like this reveals a growing national xenophobia, which eventually led to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The Museum is displaying this object to confront and reflect on racist imagery in the past so it can be identified and eradicated in the present.