Saucer (part of a service) 1765 - 1775

This porcelain saucer was made by the Frankenthal Porcelain Manufactory. We see a delicate bird perched on a stylized tree branch, a common motif in decorative arts. To understand this saucer, it helps to know about the factory that produced it, founded in the mid-18th century in Germany. These manufactories were deeply embedded in court culture. They were often owned or patronized by royalty, and their products were luxury goods, symbols of wealth and status. The imagery is drawn from East Asian art, reflecting the vogue for ‘chinoiserie’ that swept Europe in the 18th century. This stylized take on the East became a visual language, used to signify refinement, luxury and a global reach. By studying objects like this, along with archival records of the factory, court documents, and trade histories, we can learn a lot about the social and economic world that produced them. The history of art is contingent on social and institutional contexts.