Coffee Cup

Dateca. 1795

MediumPorcelain, hard-paste with black, blue, orange, purple, and gold

DimensionsOverall: 2 5/8 x 2 3/8 x 3 3/8in. (6.7 x 6 x 8.6cm)

Credit LineGift of Ms. Laura Boys

Object number2008-147,1

DescriptionPorcelain coffee cup decorated on the exterior with a figure of Hope, standing on a rocky ledge, leaning against an anchor, pointing to the sea, a small ship sailing in the distance flying two American flags. Above this scene is the phrase painted in gold "He is Gone." The saucer is further decorated with a wavy blue border around the exterior rim of the piece and another husk border in gold around the interior rim.
Label TextThis piece depicts the figure of Hope as a woman leaning on an anchor, with a ship in the distance. The imagery is most often associated with commerce during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The addition of the phrase "He is Gone" to the design links this image to either the "sailor's farewell" or perhaps is meant to be evocative of mourning the loss of a sailor whose ship was lost. It is very rare to have an inscription included in the design on Chinese export porcelain (unless it is a motto incorporated into an armorial).
Inscribed"He is Gone" in script
ProvenanceLaura and Jack Boys, Newburyport, Massachusetts
David Overall, Elizabethtown, Kentucky