Pair of Cups and Saucers (tasses litrons) with Portraits of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI
Produced only during the reign of Louis XVI, these luxurious cups and saucers attest to the care Marie Antoinette took with the gifts she commissioned. Craftsmen at the renowned Sèvres factory produced vessels embellished with translucent and opaque enamels raised on gold foil—so-called jeweled porcelain. In May and June 1782, the workshops made pieces for Paul and Maria Feodorovna of Russia. Two other cups fired in December were probably given to Gustav III of Sweden in 1784.
Artwork Details
- Title:Pair of Cups and Saucers (tasses litrons) with Portraits of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI
- Artist:Pair painted by Nicolas Pierre Pithou the Younger (active 1763–67, 1769–95, 1814–18)
- Artist:Pair enameled by Philippe Parpette (French, active 1755–57)
- Artist:Marie Antoinette set gilded by Etienne-Henry Le Guay (French, active 1748–49, 1751–97)
- Manufactory:Pair by Sèvres Manufactory (French, 1740–present)
- Date:1782
- Culture:French
- Medium:Soft-paste porcelain, decorated with enamel “pearls”
- Dimensions:Marie Antoinette cup: 2 15/16 in. (7.5 cm)
Marie Antoinette saucer: 5 1/2 in. (14 cm)
Louis XVI cup: 3 in. (7.6 cm)
Louis XVI saucer: 5 13/16 in. (14.8 cm) - Classification:Ceramics-Porcelain
- Credit Line:Nationalmuseum, Stockholm
Bequest 1940 from consul Hjalmar Wicander (NMK 106/1940)
Bequest 1940 from Eva Charlotta Mörner (NMK 379) - Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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