Cup and saucer 1730 - 1740

This porcelain cup and saucer were crafted at the Meissen Manufactory. Notice the bear hunt depicted on the saucer, a scene brimming with symbolic weight. The bear, historically a symbol of primal strength, faces off against aristocratic hunters. This confrontation echoes deeper, age-old conflicts between civilization and the wild, order and chaos. The image of the hunt, a motif seen across millennia, from ancient cave paintings to Renaissance tapestries, speaks to humanity's enduring struggle to dominate nature. Here, however, the bear's powerful stance suggests a resistance, a refusal to be tamed. Consider how this struggle mirrors our own internal battles, the conscious mind's attempt to control the subconscious urges, a dance of power and instinct. The hunt, therefore, is not merely a scene, but a stage upon which the drama of human existence unfolds. It is a reminder that the past is always present, lurking beneath the surface of our everyday lives, shaping our perceptions and coloring our world with primal energies.