Images(3)

Teacup and Saucer

Dateca. 1750

OriginAsia, China, Jingdezhen

MediumHard-paste porcelain

DimensionsTeacup: H: 1 5/8"; D: 2 1/16" Saucer: D: 4 1/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, C. Thomas Hamlin III Fund

Object number2016-87,A&B

DescriptionChinese export porcelain teacup and saucer decorated in transparent enamels of blue, iron-oxide red, and gilding. The cup is molded in lobes that twist and the design also twists or whorls creating a pinwheel-like effect on the saucer. The lobes alternate between blue with gilding and white with red floral decoration. A border of red and gilding encircles the rim. The underside of the cup is marked with the Meissen mark. A painted design in underglaze blue of a dot and S over crossed swords and partly outlined with gold. This cup and saucer was copied in China from a Meissen teacup.
Label TextArchaeological digs in Williamsburg at the site of the Barraud house on Francis Street uncovered fragments of a teacup nearly identical to this intact example. The fragments may have been the property of local merchant William Withers or apothecary William Carter who resided at the Francis Street address in the 1750s and 1760s respectively. The teacup and saucer bear an almost dizzying pattern that illustrates the transmission of style throughout the global economy of the 18th century. This swirl motif was first popular on Japanese porcelain and was copied by the Meissen porcelain manufactory in Dresden (present-day Germany) and then at Worcester porcelain factory in England. Subsequently, the pattern and the mark found on the underside of the cup were masterfully reproduced in China where this example was made.
MarkingsThe underside of the cup is marked with a Meissen mark. A painted design in underglaze blue of a dot and S over crossed swords and partly outlined with gold. This cup and saucer was copied in China from a Meissen teacup.