Cup and Saucer

Derby Porcelain Factory

1 of 3

Object Label

This cup and saucer were made for an elite market in emulation of famous royal dinner services. In 1807 Napoleon I gave the Russian czar a spectacular Egyptian-style dinner service made at Sëvres. A similar set was commissioned for Napoleon\'s empress, Josephine, as part of her divorce settlement in 1809. Josephine rejected it, however, and in 1818 Louis XVIII gave it to the Duke of Wellington. The almost whimsical vocabulary of pseudo-Egyptian hieroglyphs on the objects seen here was inspired freely by illustrations of actual inscriptions published at the time.

Caption

Derby Porcelain Factory (1750–present). Cup and Saucer, ca. 1830. Porcelain, cup: 2 7/8 x 4 in. (7.3 x 10.2 cm); saucer: 1 5/8 x 6 in. (4.1 x 15.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, X628.1a-b. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Gallery

Not on view

Title

Cup and Saucer

Date

ca. 1830

Medium

Porcelain

Classification

Food/Drink

Dimensions

cup: 2 7/8 x 4 in. (7.3 x 10.2 cm); saucer: 1 5/8 x 6 in. (4.1 x 15.2 cm)

Credit Line

Brooklyn Museum Collection

Accession Number

X628.1a-b

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