Cup

Date1770-1780

MediumPorcelain, hard-paste

DimensionsOH: 1 7/8" D: 3 1/8" top, 1 5/8" base

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Halstead B. Vander Poel

Object number1954-760,12

DescriptionA handleless cup with a scalloped rim and high foot ring. The exterior is painted in underglaze blue with two flower baskets and alternating flower sprays. The interior is decorated with a central flower sprig. A half-inch varied cell and flower border surrounds the interior edge. Below the border is a gilt chain band composed of circles with dots between two lines. The rim is gilded and a gold band encircles the foot ring. A gilder's mark in the form of an arrow is within the footring.

Label TextThis cup is part of a teaset that was a wedding gift from George Booth of Belville, Gloucester County, on his marriage to Mary Mason Wythe, daughter of Nathaniel Wythe of Warwick County, Virginia. George Booth died early and his widow later married Philip Tabb of Toddsbury, Gloucester County. The teaset was passed down through the Tabb family until it was presented to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in the 1950s.

The gilt decoration on the cup was added in England. China painters and gilders advertised throughout London. Although the Chinese also decorated with gilding, the English often referred to Chinese gilding as inferior. It was not uncommon for merchants or individuals to order a tea service or dinner service from China and have it gilt in England. The gilding enhanced the value of the objects and symbolized the social status of its owners.
MarkingsGilt arrow inside foot.
ProvenanceThis cup is part of a teaset that was a wedding gift from George Booth of Belville, Gloucester County, on his marriage to Mary Mason Wythe, daughter of Nathaniel Wythe of Warwick County, Virginia. George Booth died early and his widow later married Philip Tabb of Toddsbury, Gloucester County. The teaset was passed down through the Tabb family until it was presented to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in the 1950s.

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