Images(2)

Coffee cup

Dateca. 1745

OriginAsia, China, Jingdezhen

MediumPorcelain, hard-paste

DimensionsH: 2 1/2in; D: 2 3/8in

Credit LineGift of an Anonymous Donor

Object number2012-1

DescriptionChinese export porcelain handled coffee cup decorated in ink color with a figure of Ceres, the Roman goddess of harvest, flanked by a baroque-style cornucopia border. A thin line of black circles the outside rim of the cup. Traces of the original gilding are evident on the rim and the decoration.
Label TextThis Chinese export porcelain handled coffee cup is decorated in ink color with a figure of Ceres, the Roman goddess of harvest that is flanked by a baroque-style cornucopia border. A thin line of black encircles the outside rim of the cup. Traces of the original gilding are evident on the rim and the decoration.

References to "pencil'd China" or Chinese export porcelain decorated in ink color are prevalent in period newspaper advertisements (at least as early as 1741) and inventories throughout the Colonies. Grisaille decorated porcelain was an effort to copy printing techniques and was referred to as "penciled" because of the fine lines used in painting the decoration. Mythological figures like Ceres were prevalent on early grisaille decorated pieces and, most likely, copied scenes found on duPaquier porcelain. The cornucopia border is similar to the border found on a saucer (2009-197), also decorated with mythological figures, that has a history of ownership in the Pennock and Rumford families of Delaware and Virginia. This coffee cup serves as an intact example of grisaille decorated wares that turn up archaeologically at the Charlton's Coffeehouse and other sites in Williamsburg, Virginia and the Colonies at large.