Plate

Art Historical Context

This exquisite plate, crafted around 1730 at the Vienna Porcelain Manufactory the Claudius Innocentius du Paquier period, exemplifies European mastery of hard-paste porcelain. Measuring 8⅜ inches in diameter, this Austrian treasure from the European Sculpture and Decor Arts collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art was using the same vitrified, translucent clay formula that had long been a Chinese secret. The Du Paquier factory, one of the continent's pioneers outside Meissen, achieved this breakthrough under imperial privilege, marking a pivotal moment in the 18th-century race to rival Eastern luxury goods. Adorned with vibrant hand-painted motifs of birds, men, and flowers—likely in colorful enamels over glaze—the plate captures the playful, naturalistic elegance of emerging Rococo tastes. These decorative elements evoke pastoral scenes, blending human figures with flora and fauna in a harmonious tableau suited for aristocratic tables. Part of The Lesley and Emma Sheafer Collection (bequest of Emma A. Sheafer, 1973), this piece highlights Vienna's brief but brilliant porcelain era before state takeover in 1744. It invites us to appreciate not just its beauty, but the ingenuity that brought porcelain to Europe's heart.