The Sèvres porcelain painter, André-Vincent Vielliard might have seen the dramatic incident depicted on this cup and saucer himself. On 2nd March 1784, the pioneering aeronaut, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, brought his hydrogen gas balloon down only a short distance from Sèvres in the rue de Sèvres in Billancourt. He had taken off from the Champ de Mars in Paris and intended to fly to La Villette; however, the wind blew him south-west towards Sèvres. His daring exploits caused a sensation as this was only the third time Parisians had witnessed such an event: the first successful manned balloon flight had taken place on 21st November 1783, when Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes took off from the palace of Versailles in a hot air balloon made by the Montgolfier brothers. The first manned hydrogen balloon flight had taken place on 1st December 1783, when Professor Jacques Charles and Nicolas-Louis Robert ascended from the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris.

It is not surprising that a number of tea wares painted with this subject are known, as the balloon flights sparked a veritable mania for ballooning and Sèvres responded by creating the equivalent of modern-day souvenirs, albeit for well-heeled customers. Ballooning scenes were also painted on fans and snuff boxes and influenced fashion with puffed skirts and sleeves and even special hairstyles.