Description:
Chinese export porcelain coffee cup with handle and saucer decorated en grisaille (or encre de chine or ink color) and gilding with Juno, wife of Jupiter and goddess of marriage and maternity, wearing a gilt crown and holding a septer and wreath, seated on a cloud with a peacock by her side. Chinese enamelers developed ink-color decoration as a method of reproducing print images on porcelain for the western market. Dominated by black enamels and washes, ink-color decoration was first produced in the 1730s and remained popular throughout the 18th century. Often period documents refer to this decoration as "pencil'd," reflecting its use of fine brush strokes and black color. Designed for the Continental market, the 'Juno and the Peacock' pattern was a popular mythological design on Chinese export porcelain, which was based on an engraving by the French painter, sculptor, and engraver, Claude Audran III (1658-1734) who taught the rococo artist Antoine Watteau (1684-1721). Audran was best known for his tapestry and ornamental panel designs, many of which featured mythological gods and goddesses. Hervouet and Bruneau note that this scene with Juno was taken from an Audran engraving titled, "Janvier" (January), one of the twelve months of the year symbolized by the gods and goddeses of Olympia; they also show Chinese export porcelain examples based on Audran's engravings of Venus symbolizing April, Mercury for June, Jupiter for July, Ceres for August, and Diana for November. According to Litzenburg, these engravings were part of Audran's "Les Mois Grotesques", designs for tapestry panels done in 1708-1709 and woven at the Gobelins manufactory from 1709 to 1726 for the rooms of the Grand Dauphin at the Château de Meudon. This design with Juno first appeared circa 1740 en grisaille, and was later produced in in the Famille rose palette. The original engraving had Juno in a 'sleigh' drawn by two peacocks; in this version, the sleigh appears to be a cloud. The elaborate border decoration follows an early 18th century Viennese "Laub-und-bandelwerk" design with patterned panels, foliate scrolls and festoons, and fan-tailed peacocks. This border was used exclusively for services painted en grisaille; it is also found on armorial services between 1740 and 1755.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+64.001 |
