Kussen van tête-à-tête 1775 - 1778

Curator: This intriguing piece is called "Kussen van t\u00eate-\u00e0-t\u00eate," made between 1775 and 1778 by the Kaiserliche Porzellanmanufaktur. It's crafted from porcelain, presented in a still-life photographic style. What are your initial thoughts? Editor: Well, honestly? It reminds me of a misshapen biscuit! A sort of lumpy, ancient cream-colored confection. There's a tactile quality to it even in this image... Makes you want to poke it to see if it’s hard or soft. Curator: That tactile quality is key. This porcelain "Kussen" or cushion, was intended as decorative art during the Rococo period. It suggests leisure, intimacy, and a certain delicate sensibility. The Rococo was very much about performative femininity within aristocratic circles, you see, so there are many layers about who had time and luxury for items like this. Editor: Right, objects speak volumes about social hierarchy! The delicate Rococo aesthetic, the labor involved in crafting porcelain...It whispers of an exclusive lifestyle far removed from, well, actual hard labor. And let’s be honest: a porcelain cushion? The irony drips, doesn't it? Curator: Indeed. Consider, too, the phrase "t\u00eate-\u00e0-t\u00eate," which speaks to private, intimate conversations, traditionally a space of negotiation and power dynamics within societal structures. This porcelain cushion becomes not just a pretty thing but an artifact imbued with questions of gender roles, power and exclusivity. Editor: Hmm, that intimate sphere you describe is ripe with potential for mischief and clandestine negotiations... This unassuming cushion now feels heavier somehow, weighed down by implications! It has transitioned, for me, from quirky object to loaded signifier. Curator: Exactly. It invites us to examine how the aesthetic object intersects with broader narratives of societal expectations, class and even gender. Editor: From cream puff to critical discourse in two minutes flat! This artwork really does open doors to unexpected interpretations, doesn't it? Curator: Precisely; I find I walk away reflecting not just on the aesthetics of the era, but the latent statements they can reveal about society.