Pair of cups and saucers, anonymous, c. 1700
paint, h 2.8cm × w 11cm × d 5cm More details
The drinking of tea was increasingly adopted in the West by the end of the 17th century. China had been closed for decades as the result of a civil war. When it ended, VOC merchants could once again buy porcelain from China, and the supply of tea and of teacups grew enormously. The hexagonal form of these cups is exceptional, just as is the crane in flight, set against a richly variegated blue background.
