Cup c. 18th century

This small cup, made by an anonymous artist, presents a delicate interplay of form and surface design. Its simple, rounded shape is immediately appealing, its white body acting as a blank canvas for the floral decoration. The painted flowers, with their red, blue, and yellow hues, are distributed unevenly, creating a rhythm that leads the eye around the cup. The black outlines of the flowers and leaves provide a sharp contrast, delineating the forms and adding a graphic quality. The arrangement of the floral motifs, with their careful asymmetry, destabilizes any fixed or predictable reading. We see how the cup engages with ideas of functionality and ornamentation, tradition and innovation. It exists as an ongoing dialogue, an interplay of form and surface that invites endless interpretations.