Coffee Cup and Saucer 1804 - 1813

This coffee cup and saucer were made by the Worcester Royal Porcelain Company. These pieces exemplify how manufacturers in England responded to the neoclassical style that swept across Europe in the late 1700s. The visual vocabulary here—the laurel wreaths, palmettes, and stylized flower—were drawn from ancient Greek and Roman art. This aesthetic was promoted by influential tastemakers, such as the potter Josiah Wedgwood, who hoped to educate British consumers with these classical forms. The perfection of porcelain production allowed the Worcester factory to produce relatively inexpensive wares decorated with these fashionable motifs. Fragments of letters survive that allow historians to piece together the complex system by which factory owners, artists, and retailers collaborated to shape consumer tastes. Art such as this reflects the social conditions of its own time. Close study of museum collections, factory records, and the letters of the period, help us to understand the role of this art in shaping social life in England.