Object size: 002: D9.5 cm
This cup and saucer with floral designs is decorated in underglaze cobalt blue.These pieces along with other porcelain wares were found on the wreck of Vung Tao, an Asian trading vessel off the south coast of Vietnam, bound for Batavia (now Jakarta), from where the Dutch East India Company transhipped porcelain to Europe. These miniature wares were used in large quantities to create elaborate displays on the walls and mantlepieces of European homes.The shapes and designs found in the Vung Tau cargo are unique suggesting that the entire set was made to a specific order. The floral motifs arranged within panels are characteristic of blue and white porcelain cargo of the Vung Tau shipment as well as most blue and white wares of the Kangxi period (1662–1722). The Vung Tau ceramics reveal how Western demand for porcelain played a direct and influential role in ceramic production. The West supplied specific models for Chinese potters to reproduce in porcelain, consciously copying western metal and glass shapes.Prior to Kangxi period (1662–1722), teacups were not ordered with matching saucers, which increases the significance of the teacups in this cargo. Large quantities of these teacups and saucers were exported to Dutch markets.
