Theekop met figuren in landschap in bietenrood met gouden biezen 1775

This teacup, made by Loosdrecht, features figures in a landscape rendered in beet-red with gilded trim. It shows the highly refined craft of porcelain production. The delicate porcelain reveals a labor-intensive process. The fine clay requires careful preparation, shaping on a wheel, and firing at high temperatures. The beet-red pigment, applied with precision, shows skilled hand-painting. Gold trim is the final touch, signaling luxury. The cup’s thin walls and refined decoration speak to the intense labor that went into its making. In its day, such a cup would have been a precious commodity, consumed in a ritual that was itself bound up with trade, empire, and taste. Appreciating this teacup, therefore, demands an understanding of the broader economic and social forces that gave it shape, and which reveal its beauty.