Teacup

Date1750-1752

Artist/Maker Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory 1745-1769

MediumSoft-paste porcelain

DimensionsH: 2 1/8in. (5.4cm); DIA: 2 13/16in. (7.1cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1962-43,1

DescriptionSoft-paste porcelain teacup with five lobes, decorated with overglaze enamels in the Kakiemon style. There is a flying bird, resembling a hôô, painted with blue, red, and yellow; a tree with red and yellow blooms; and brushwood fences painted with green and red. At the bottom of the interior, there is an insect and a blue branch with a red and a yellow flower.

Label TextThe motifs of the bird and the banded hedge are the most common on Kakiemon wares. They appear together in different versions on three pieces in the Colonial Williamsburg Collection (see accessions 1962-94 and 1962-23). Probably the earliest of the three, the decoration on this tea bowl and saucer is very like its Kakiemon prototype.Inscription(s)NoMark(s)NoProvenanceEx coll: M.G. Kaufman, Chicago