This cup and saucer may have been a love token or gift to a recipient whose name began with an 'F'. Alternatively the 'F' may refer to the factory or the city where it was made. The simplicity of the shapes and decoration, and the restrained gilded line borders reflects the more austere taste of the final years of the 18th century when neo-classicism was the prevailing style.

Fürstenberg lies in the far south-west of modern-day Germany. A pottery had been established there in 1744 by the ruler, Duke Charles I of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel with the aim of stimulating industry in his domain. It was not until about ten years later however that it was possible to make porcelain there as the recipe was a closely guarded secret, developed over many years at Meissen. The secret slowly leaked out however, and in 1719 the Vienna factory of Du Paquier was set up. In 1750 a potter at Vienna called J.J. Ringler defected and travelled around Europe setting up factories wherever he could find patrons. The first factory to be established by him was at Höchst in 1750. The manager of this factory, Johann Benckgraff, in turn defected to Fürstenberg, together with his son-in-law Johann Zeschinger, a painter, and Simon Feilner who was to become an important modeller at the factory. The main influence on the decorative style of the factory came from the dominant German porcelain factory at Meissen.