Cup and saucer 1765 - 1775

This cup and saucer was made at the Cozzi Manufactory in Venice, sometime between 1764 and 1812, crafted from delicate porcelain. Porcelain production was a complex, laborious process, very much tied to the dynamics of European trade and industrial development. High-end ceramics like this were status symbols, and signaled sophistication and wealth. The translucent porcelain, likely made using kaolin clay, was formed, fired at extremely high temperatures, and then decorated with painted scenes and heraldic motifs. The cobalt blue designs were carefully applied by skilled artisans, and required multiple firings to achieve their final brilliance. Consider the social context: this was a period of intense competition among European powers to produce the finest porcelain. Factories like Cozzi employed a workforce of artisans, often working in specialized roles. The value of these objects lay not only in the material, but in the labor and skill required to make them. Looking at this cup and saucer, we see the confluence of material, process, and social history. It reminds us that even the most refined objects are products of intense human effort and global exchange.