Saucer
Unknown Artist
ca. 1795
Medium
Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions
Diameter: 5 9/16 in. (14.1 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain-Export
Culture
Chinese, for Dutch market
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Helena Woolworth McCann Collection, Gift of Winfield Foundation, 1951
Accession Number
51.86.374
Tags
Art Historical Context
This elegant saucer, crafted around 1795 in China specifically for the Dutch market, exemplifies the booming export porcelain trade of the late 18th century. Measuring just 5 9/16 inches in diameter, it was produced using hard-paste porcelain—a high-fired, translucent material perfected by Chinese artisans centuries earlier. This medium's durability and fine white body made it highly prized in Europe, where it fueled a craze for luxurious tableware amid expanding global commerce through entities like the Dutch East India Company. The saucer's decoration, featuring motifs of women and coats of...