Saucer

Art Historical Context

This delicate saucer, crafted around 1780–90 at the Chantilly porcelain factory in France, exemplifies the refined elegance of late-eighteenth-century European ceramics. Measuring just 4½ inches across, it was likely part of a tea or coffee service, reflecting the growing fashion for intimate domestic rituals among the French elite during the reign of Louis XVI. Produced in soft-paste porcelain—a material developed in Europe as an attempt to replicate prized Chinese imports—the piece highlights the technical ingenuity of French manufactories before the widespread use of true hard-paste porcelain. Chantilly’s output during this period was celebrated for its luminous white body and graceful forms, often serving aristocratic households and collectors. As a product of one of France’s premier porcelain centers, established earlier in the century under princely patronage, this saucer embodies the cultural importance of decorative arts in conveying status and taste. Its presence in the Metropolitan Museum’s Hans Syz Collection underscores the enduring legacy of such intimate objects in tracing the story of European innovation and luxury trade.