Cup with cover and saucer (gobelet à lait et soucoupe)

Manufactory Vincennes Manufactory French

Decorator Louis-Jean Thévenet (père) French

1756

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 529

When this design was introduced at Vincennes in 1752, it was described as a "milk cup and saucer," and it may have been intended only for hot milk drinks. The presence of a cover, however, would have made it appropriate for serving hot chocolate as well. The swirling, asymmetrical use of the turquoise ground color must have appeared startlingly original when this cup and saucer were made.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Cup with cover and saucer (gobelet à lait et soucoupe)
Manufactory: Vincennes Manufactory (French, ca. 1740–1756)
Decorator: Louis-Jean Thévenet (père) (French, 1707–after 1778, active 1741–78)
Date: 1756
Culture: French, Vincennes
Medium: Soft-paste porcelain
Dimensions: Height (cup with cover .174a, b): 4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm);
Diameter (saucer .175): 6 3/4 in. (17.1 cm)
Classification: Ceramics-Porcelain
Credit Line: Gift of R. Thornton Wilson, in memory of Florence Ellsworth Wilson, 1950
Object Number: 50.211.174a, b, .175
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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