Chocolate cup and saucer with dragons and phoenixes
A service decorated with red dragons was delivered to Augustus III, elector of Saxony and king of Poland, between 1734 and 1739. The Red Dragon pattern is now thought to have originated at Meissen, but its concurrent appearance on Chinese and Japanese porcelain obscures the source of its invention. The phoenix in the center, as a symbol of the female (yin) principle, complements the dragon as that of the male (yang) principle.
Artwork Details
- Title: Chocolate cup and saucer with dragons and phoenixes
- Manufactory: Meissen Manufactory (German, 1710–present)
- Date: ca. 1739
- Culture: German, Meissen
- Medium: Hard-paste porcelain painted with colored enamels over transparent glaze
- Dimensions: Height (cup .384): 2 5/8 in. (6.7 cm);
Diameter (saucer .385): 5 3/16 in. (13.2 cm) - Classification: Ceramics-Porcelain
- Credit Line: The Lesley and Emma Sheafer Collection, Bequest of Emma A. Sheafer, 1973
- Object Number: 1974.356.384, .385
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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