Saucer 1710 - 1745

This saucer was made by the Meissen Manufactory. This dish is typical of the kind of decorative porcelain that became popular in Europe during the eighteenth century. At its center is a depiction of a basket of flowers surrounded by what looks like a garden. The figure of a man with a walking stick peers out from behind this scene. Produced in Germany, this dish displays visual and cultural references that tell us a lot about the values of the time in which it was made. It is a kind of commodity fetish, representing a lifestyle of leisure and luxury, removed from the concerns of everyday life. The museum itself, as an institution, also played an important role in shaping the way people thought about and valued objects like this. We can research how the rising middle class acquired and displayed these kinds of objects to better understand the social and cultural context in which they were made.