Cup and Saucer

This cup was used to consume coffee and would have been paired with a matching deep saucer. It is part of a Neoclassical coffee and chocolate service that included a coffeepot, chocolate pot, sugar bowl, milk jug, and waste bowl in addition to multiple sets of coffee cups, chocolate cups and matching saucers. The service originally belonged to the famed Baltimorean socialite and former sister-in-law to Napoleon Bonaparte, Elizabeth (Betsy) Patterson Bonaparte. Betsy married Napoleon’s youngest brother, Jérôme in 1803; this marriage, however, was not sanctioned by Napoleon and, consequently, Napoleon ordered his brother to leave his wife and return to France. Jérôme and Betsy’s divorce was drawn out, only being confirmed in 1815. Betsy and Jérôme likely used this coffee and chocolate service at their home, Mountrose Mansion, in Reisterstown, Maryland. 37 pieces survive in the Walters Art Museum’s collection. The majority of the porcelain dishes contain the gilt marks of Deroche, a Parisian porcelain firm that sold and decorated, but did not make, porcelain objects.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

From the "Montrose" estate of Elizabeth Patterson and Jerome Bonaparte; belonged to their son, Charles Bonaparte
Mrs. C. Harold Taylor, Nantucket, MA