Cleveland Museum of Art

Cup and Saucer (tasse et soucoupe)

Saint Cloud Porcelain Factory

Date

1700–1720

Medium

soft-paste porcelain with underglaze blue decoration

Culture

France, Saint Cloud, 18th century

Department

Decorative Art and Design

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The cobalt blue and white decoration that borders the edges of the cup and saucer was one of the earliest types of decoration used at the Saint-Cloud porcelain factory. This type of cup and saucer pair may have been called a trembleuse (trembler) due to the raised ring around the well of the saucer that would have secured the cup in trembling hands. The Saint-Cloud Porcelain Factory was the first successful European manufacturer of soft-paste porcelain, a slightly off-white product that attempted to emulate the prized hard-paste porcelain produced by China and Japan.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.