Superbly hand-painted in the Meissen style in the last half of the nineteenth century in Helena Wolfsohn's Dresden workshop (founded in 1843), this petite cup and saucer is a delightful peek into a bygone era of entertaining.

In exquisite detail, it features a beautiful quatrefoil design with alternating pink and white panels framed by delicate gilded scrollwork. Inside each panel are sprays of colorful flowers, or scenes of a courting couple based on the paintings of Jean Watteau.

Entirely painted by hand, and bearing the Augustus Rex mark often used by Wolfsohn’s workshop, this exceedingly rare piece would be a delightful addition to any collection and the perfect way to savor a sip after dinner or on a quiet morning.

Strictly one-of-a-kind and subject to prior sale. In very good antique condition. Cup measures 1.75"H x 2.75" in diameter. Saucer measures 4.25. in diameter.

Learn More About European Porcelain

Seemingly available cheaply everywhere and taken for granted today, objects made out of porcelain were once rare and precious things to Europeans. Since the time of the Tang dynasty (618-907) only the Chinese knew the process of mixing ground petuntse (a type of low-iron volcanic stone) with kaolin (a hydrated aluminum silicate crystalline mineral clay), and firing at high temperatures to produce items prized for their strength, translucence, and pure white color. Porcelain was so associated with its origin, that the type of ceramic came to be known simply as “china.”

By the 13th century, porcelain imported from China was highly prized in the royal courts of Europe. The versatility and hardness of the material allowed for lighter, thinner, more elegant wares than did contemporary European pottery, but the lengthy and dangerous journey from China to Europe made these wares extravagantly expensive.

By the early 18th century most of Europe’s courts were attempting to copy China’s porcelain, but it was the alchemist Johann Friedrich Böttger who first succeeded in Meissen in 1708 under commission from the royal court of Saxony.