Saucer
ca. 1770
Medium
Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions
Diameter: 4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain
Culture
Italian, Florence
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Alfred Duane Pell, 1902
Accession Number
02.6.213
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate saucer, produced around 1770 by the Doccia Porcelain Manufactory in Florence, Italy, showcases the refined artistry of 18th-century European ceramics. Crafted from hard-paste porcelain—a durable, translucent material that allowed for intricate painted details—this small vessel, measuring just under five inches in diameter, was likely part of an elegant tea or coffee service. Its painted decoration, featuring men, female nudes, and trees, hints at pastoral or mythological themes popular in decorative arts of the period. The Doccia factory, founded in 1735 by Carlo Ginori, played ...
About the Artist
Doccia Porcelain Manufactory · 1737–1896
The Doccia Porcelain Manufactory, founded in 1737 by Marquis Carlo Ginori near Florence, holds the distinction of being Italy's first hard-paste porcelain manufacturer and one of the few European porcelain enterprises to survive from the eighteenth century to the present day without interruption. Unlike most contemporary ventures — which depended on the patronage and protection of ruling courts — ...