Cup and Saucer (gobelet ‘litron’ et soucoupe)

“Litron” cups, like this one, would typically be used to consume hot beverages such as tea, coffee, and drinking chocolate. The word “litron” refers to a wooden cup (9.4 cm high and 10.3 cm in diameter) used in the 17th century as the standard measure of grain, flour, salt, and peas. While this particular gobelet ‘litron’ does not conform to these proportions, its cylindrical shape recalls the old wooden vessel. Ornamented with a deep purple-red ground color, the cup and saucer set are embellished with extensive gilding. The cup features a portrait of a woman that is possibly Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte of France, the eldest child of Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI and their only offspring to survive the Revolution. The woman wears a muslin ruff and gown, both popular fashions in the early 19th century. A thick band of gilding encircles the portrait and garlands of white lilies, a symbol of the Bourbon monarchy, surround the portrait’s golden frame. Perhaps the lilies are a reference to the sitter’s support of the Bourbon Restoration of King Louis XVIII, who ruled from 1814 to 1824.

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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.

Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, Sèvres, France; purchased by William T. Walters, Baltimore, 1864 [1]; by bequest to Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894; by bequest to the Walters Art Museum, 1931.

[1]. Manufacture nationale de Sèvres, Archives, Vz 11: Registre des Ventes au Comptant de 1864 à 1867, folio 65, sale to “M. Walter”, 3 November 1864, of a “Tasse et souc [soucoupe] litron fd [fond] brun portrait [Litron cup and saucer brown ground portrait]” for 160 francs.