Saucer (part of a service)
Medium
Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions
Diameter: 5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain
Culture
German, Frankenthal
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Walter T. Rosen, in memory of his mother, Mrs. Flora Tower Rosen, 1932
Accession Number
32.71.26
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate saucer, crafted around 1770 by the renowned Frankenthal Porcelain Manactory in Germany during the Karl Theodor period, the height of 18th-century European porcelain. Produced under the patronage of Elector Palatine Karl Theodor the manufactory—directed by figures like painter Adam Bergdoll—ivaled Meissen in technical prowess. Made from hard-paste porcelain, breakthrough European invention mimicking prized Chinese wares, it measures just 5¼ inches in diameter, perfect for an elegant tea or coffee service. Adorned with finely painted motifs of birds perched amid lush trees, the sa...