Cup (part of a service)
Medium
Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions
2 3/4 × 2 3/4 in. (7 × 7 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain
Culture
German, Frankenthal
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Walter T. Rosen, in memory of his mother, Mrs. Flora Tower Rosen, 1932
Accession Number
32.71.6
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate cup, crafted around 1770 at the renowned Frankenthal Porcelain Manufactory in Germany during the Karl Theodor period, exemplifies the height of 18th-century European porcelain. Produced under the patronage of Elector Palatine Karl Theodor who elevated the factory to rival Meissen and Sèvres, the piece is made of hard-paste porcelain technically advanced material fired at high temperatures for exceptional translucency and durability. Measuring just 2¾ × 2¾ inches, it formed part of a larger service, likely for tea or coffee, reflecting the era's obsession with refined tableware am...