Description: Chinese export porcelain teacup and saucer, both decorated with a well-painted 'Judgment of Paris' pattern in the Famille rose palette of iron red, pink, greens, brown, yellow, blue, black, and gilding. Mythological subjects, which were widely used as themes for decorating Chinese porcelains from about 1735 to 1760, were produced along with religious scenes and subjects from literary and artistic sources. Such subjects were often made to the special order of Europeans and shipped back as permitted 'Private Trade.' This scene, perhaps the most popular European design on Chinese porcelain during the 1740s, illustrates the 'fatal error' ("Illiad", Bk. XXIV) where Paris, son of King Priam, angers Hera (the Roman Juno) and Athena (Minerva) by choosing Aphrodite (Venus) as the most beautiful of the three and offering her the golden apple of Discord; each bribed Paris but Aphrodite promised him Helen of Troy, which gave rise to the Trojan War. The most famous depiction of this scene is the c.1517-1520 engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi (c.1470-1527/34) after a c.1510-1520 drawing by Raphael (1483-1520), with whom Raimondi worked closely, from which this version was probably copied. There are at least six variations of the scene, which allowed the innocent painting of beautiful naked ladies, made in a number of different Chinese workshops between about 1740 and 1755; the scene was also popular on European porcelain. According to Howard and Ayers who show a similar coffee cup and saucer: "This is an early service of a scene, which is known with at least four differing border designs. It is perhaps the best painted..." The cup and saucer show Paris seated under a tree, the three goddesss standing in front of him, Cupid plucking at Venus' drapery, a quiver, dalmation-like dog, peacock, and hills in the background. Both the exterior cup and interior saucer rims have a wide band of gilt scrollwork.
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