Cup (part of a service)

Art Historical Context

This elegant cup, created around 1740 by Dutch artist Cornelis Pronk, forms part of a larger porcelain service made in China expressly for the European market. Pronk’s designs were frequently commissioned by Dutch trading companies and sent to Chinese workshops, where local artisans adapted them to suit Western tastes. The result was a graceful fusion of cultures, with delicate forms and patterns that appealed to collectors in the Netherlands and beyond. Crafted from hard-paste porcelain, the cup showcases the material’s renowned strength, fine translucency, and ability to hold intricate decoration. This medium, perfected in China centuries earlier, became highly prized in Europe for both its beauty and durability. As an export piece, it reflects the vibrant 18th-century trade networks that carried Chinese porcelain across oceans to grace European tables. Though small in scale—barely three inches across—the cup reveals the meticulous skill involved in producing complete matching services for tea or coffee. Today it stands as a quiet testament to global artistic exchange, preserved in the Metropolitan Museum’s European Sculpture and Decorative Arts collection.

About the Artist

Cornelis Pronk · 1691–1759

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