Ask the Scholar

This single-handled cylindrical cup and deep saucer would have primarily been used to consume tea; chocolate and coffee, however, were sometimes served in vessels like this one. 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 cup. This cup and saucer feature a yellow ground color, one of the most difficult glaze colors to manufacture and one of the most widely sought in the 18th century. When the Vincennes Porcelain Manufactory closed and re-opened in 1756 at Sèvres, becoming Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, yellow ground glaze was the first the factory produced. A rose-colored landscape, featuring pastoral structures, and peasants ring both the cup and saucer.