Cup

Dateca. 1735

MediumPorcelain, hard-paste

Credit LineGift of Beatrix T. Rumford

Object number2009-198

DescriptionA handless cup with slightly flared rim and 1/8 inch foot. Often referred to as Batavian decoration, the exterior is decorated with underglaze brown (iron) and overglaze opaque enamels and reserves in the shape of leaves or Buddha’s heart. The reserves are painted in opaque enamels with flowering peonies and a peach. The edge of the foot is undecorated. The rim of the cup is decorated with a light brown iron. A line of red, 1/16 of an inch from the rim encircles the interior. The sides of the interior complement the opaque enamel decoration of the exterior reserves.
Label TextThis teacup displays a less common combination of dark brown glaze with opaque enamels. The decoration also differs in its shaped reserves on the exterior that are filled with contrasting adornment, in this case more colorful enamels. A small punch bowl recovered from the site of the James Anderson house in Williamsburg was similarly decorated. First owned in Philadelphia by Mary Lefevre and her husband, David Deshler, it was likely purchased around the time of their 1729 marriage before being passed down for several generations. It is unclear whether the cup was ever paired with a saucer or possibly belonged to a larger group of matched tea wares, but it has been a lone survival from at least the mid-19th century when it appears in family records.
ProvenanceFrom the collection of Miss Beatrix T. Rumford.

Exhibition(s)