Cup and saucer 1740 - 1750

This delicate porcelain cup and saucer was made by the Capodimonte Porcelain Manufactory in Italy, sometime between 1740 and 1759. The cup and saucer are made of a milky white porcelain, adorned with sprigs of flowers. This seemingly simple object speaks volumes about the societal structures of 18th-century Europe. Porcelain production was a closely guarded secret, and its mastery was a symbol of European power and ingenuity. The Capodimonte factory, directly funded by King Charles VII of Naples, reflects the intersection of royal power and artistic production. Objects like these, were luxury items, used by the elite in social rituals like tea and coffee drinking, practices deeply entangled with global trade and colonial exploitation. The sweetness in the beverage and the porcelain it was drunk from came at a price paid by enslaved people. Consider as you view the cup and saucer how beauty and privilege are so often intertwined with histories of labor and inequality.