Cup and Saucer thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 139, The Curtain Foundation Gallery

Cup and Saucer

ca. 1755 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Cup and saucer of hard-paste glazed porcelain, moulded and gilded.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Cups
  • Saucer
Materials and techniques
Hard-paste glazed porcelain, moulded and gilded
Brief description
Cup and saucer of hard-paste porcelain, Doccia porcelain factory, Doccia, ca. 1755.
Physical description
Cup and saucer of hard-paste glazed porcelain, moulded and gilded.
Gallery label
Cup and Saucer Porcelain ITALY (DOCCIA); about 1765 C.85 & A-1929 (Label draft attributed to John V. G. Mallet, ca. 1995)(ca. 1995)
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic reference
Frescobaldi Malenchini, Livia ed. With Balleri, Rita and Rucellai, Oliva, ‘Amici di Doccia Quaderni, Numero VII, 2013, The Victoria and Albert Museum Collection’, Edizioni Polistampa, Firenze, 2014 pp. 86-87, Cat. 68 68. Cup and saucer decorated with chinoiserie circa 1755 hard-paste porcelain painted in gold cup h 8,1 cm; saucer diam. 13,2 cm no mark inv. C.85&A-1929 purchase: W.W. Winkworth, £ 6 A cup and saucer decorated with Chinese dignitaries painted in gold. This type of decoration was described in various ways: in May of 1744 it is described as “white with figures all in gold” (AGL, I, 2, f. 39, Fabbrica delle Porcellane di Doccia. Scritture e Documenti, fasc. 4), with reference not only to cups with gilding only at the base and the rim but probably also those completely gilded on the inside. Later, around 1747, we find mention of cups “completely gilded inside with gold figures in 2 places and gold foot”, with specific reference to this more expensive and complex type of decoration (AGL, XV, 2, f. 138, Manifattura di Doccia. Documenti vari, c. 484). Around the same time the factory was also producing a simpler version described as “a similar service with Chinese figures but not so much gold” (AGL, XV, 2, f. 138,Manifattura di Doccia. Documenti vari, c. 484). This decoration was almost certainly inspired by the chinoiserie that had been experimented with at Meissen starting around 1723, especially in polychrome versions (HOFFMEISTER 1999, vol. I, p. 44-75, cat. 14-34), but it would appear to have a closer connection with the interpretations of the motif painted in the workshops of the hausmaler in Augsburg, Abraham Seuter and his brother Bartholomaus (PIETSCH 1998, p. 197) and that of the Aufenwerth family (SCHOMMERS, GRIGAT-HUNGER 2004, p. 226- 227, plate 85), where they also made these decorations in etched gold on white pieces From Meissen. Since many products of Doccia have painting of a superb quality which is not always to be found on the rare examples we have with this type of decoration (STAZZI 1964, p. 22, plate 11; GINORI LISCI 1963, p. 46, fig. 18; A. Biancalana in LUCCA E LE PORCELLANE DELLA MANIFATTURA GINORI, p. 87, cat. 15; BIANCALANA 2009, p. 154), it is probable that Carl Wendelin Anreiter was the first artist to decorate porcelain objects in this manner at Doccia (BIANCALANA 2009, p. 127-138). This type of decoration, in any case, must have been very successful because it lasted for many years and was executed by several other artists, chiefly Giuseppe Nincheri (called ilMonachina, active in the Doccia factory from 1739 to 1759), until at least the 1760s (AGL, XV, 2, f. 138,Manifattura di Doccia. Documenti vari, fasc. 6). A.B. Bibliography: MORAZZONI 1935, plate CXXXV (attributed to Cozzi); MEISTER, REBER 1980, p. 96, plate 118
Collection
Accession number
C.85&A-1929

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
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