Sugar bowl with cover (part of a service)
Unknown Artist
1790–1800
Medium
Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions
Height (with cover): 5 3/8 in. (13.7 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain-Export
Culture
Chinese, probably for British 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
51.86.109a, b
Art Historical Context
This delicate sugar bowl with cover, from 1790–1800, is a fine example of Chinese export porcelain for the British market. just 5 3/8 inches (13.7 cm) tall, it formed part of a larger servicelikely a tea set—reflecting the Georgian era's obsession with elegant tableware. During this time, European powers like Britain imported vast quantities of Chinese ceramics through trading companies such as the East India Company, turning everyday rituals like tea-drinking into displays of refined taste and global sophistication. Crafted from hard-paste porcelain, the bowl showcases China's mastery of hig...