Tea Bowl and Saucer 1730 - 1735

This tea bowl and saucer were produced by the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory from delicate white porcelain, painted with colorful enamels, and gilded. Porcelain was essentially high-tech for its time, an alchemical creation born of intense research and industrial processes. Meissen, established in the early 18th century, held a royal monopoly on this coveted material in Europe. Looking closely, notice the crisp, precise forms, achieved through skillful molding and firing. The painted scenes and intricate gilding speak to the highly specialized labor required to produce such luxury wares. Consider the social context: tea drinking was fashionable among elites, and owning Meissen porcelain was a signifier of wealth and taste. This set embodies the complex relationship between craft, industry, and consumption in the age of mercantilism. By attending to these aspects, we can understand the tea bowl and saucer not just as beautiful objects, but as artifacts embedded in a network of power, labor, and global trade.