Cup and saucer
ca. 1770–80
Medium
Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions
Cup (.96): H. 1-7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) Saucer (.97): Diam. 5 in. (12.7 cm.)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain
Culture
German, Ludwigsburg
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Alfred Duane Pell, 1902
Accession Number
02.6.96, .97
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate cup and saucer, by the Ludwigsburgcelain Manufactory around 1770–80, exemplifies the pinnacle of German hard-paste porcelain production. Measuring just 1⅞ inches tall for the cup and inches across the saucer, this petite set was designed for intimate tea rituals, a fashionable social pastime among Europe's elite during the late Rococo and early Neoclassical periods. Adorned with motifs of buildings, women, and—likely delicate painted scenes evoking pastoral idylls or romantic landscapes—the piece showcases the manufactory's skill in combining technical precision with artistic wh...