Mennecy - Cup and saucer (2) - Softpaste porcelain - Cup and its saucer in soft-paste porcelain from Mennecy. Duke of Villeroy, 18th century

Cup and saucer in soft porcelain from Mennecy – Duc de Villeroy Manufacture – 18th century
Charming cup in a goblet form, resting on a light foot, accompanied by its saucer. The set is decorated with the characteristic Mennecy floral motif, composed of small bouquets and clusters of flowers, executed in the violet palette peculiar to the manufactory. A fine thread in the same hue accents the rim, while the handle is delicately highlighted with violet brushstrokes.

This regular use of violet, now inseparable from Mennecy, fully reflects the rural, pastoral taste that dominates the early decades of the manufactory under the patronage of the Duke of Villeroy. Here one finds the delicate, light spirit of the Louis XV era: a lively, graceful decoration, not botanically exact but animated by a true pictorial sensibility. Open roses or buds, peonies, cornflowers, tulips, and other garden flowers appear freely, sometimes scattered, sometimes grouped in small bouquets, with that soft, spontaneous charm that distinguishes Mennecy from the more rigid German productions.

Dimensions
• Cup height: 7 cm and cup diameter 7 cm
• Saucer diameter: 13 cm

Mark
‘DV’ mark impressed in the paste (under glaze).
Circa 1750.

Condition
Very good state of preservation for a mid-18th-century soft porcelain:
no cracks, no chips, no restorations.
Some minor firing imperfections

Rare piece on the market.