Cup and Saucer (Gobelet litron et soucoupe) with François Boucher’s La Belle Villageoise

This single-handled, cylindrical cup would likely have been used to consume tea; however, coffee and hot chocolate were also served in cups like this one. It was made at the French royal porcelain factory Sèvres where this shape was referred to as a “gobelet litron” or litron cup. The word “litron” refers to a wooden cup (9.4 centimeters high and 10.3 centimeters in diameter) used in the 17th century as the standard measure of grain, flour, salt, and peas. While this particular "litron" cup does not conform to these proportions, its cylindrical shape recalls the wooden vessel.

Sèvres is well known for the rich all-over painting and gilding found on many of its products, but this cup and saucer is decorated fairly simply. It features one large reserve—an area reserved for a painted scene—opposite the handle. Here in monochrome reddish-purple we find a depiction of a young mother, her four plump children, and the family’s cat. The image presents an idealized vision of peasant life—happy, well-fed, and fertile, this family lives in a humble abode and does not need much to survive. This image was created by Claude-Giles-Guillaume Buteux, a painter who specialized in figures and cameo decoration, who was active at Sèvres between 1778 and 1790. Buteux took his inspiration from a print titled "La Belle Villageoise” (Beautiful Country Woman), created by the engraver Pierre Soubeyran (1709–1775) and published by Gabriel Hucquier (1695–1772) after a painting by François Boucher. This artist was one of the most esteemed in France during the 18th century, including at the highest levels. Boucher served as the First Painter to the King and as the director of the Académie Royal, the leading art institution of France. Boucher’s works were quite popular and were frequently translated into other materials, including as decoration on porcelain as we see here. The enduring appeal of Boucher’s work is underlined by the fact that the "Belle Villageoise” print was published in 1738, forty years before this cup was decorated with the same image.

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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.

Acquired by William T. or Henry Walters, Baltimore, before 1931 [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; by bequest to the Walters Art Museum, 1931.