Message cup and saucer, Vienna

Beautiful baluster cup and matching saucer with colourfull garlands of flowers on white ground. On the saucer, a message written in French, the language of Love “Mes pensées vous suivent et les souvenirs me restent” (My thoughts follow you and your memory stays with me). Golden highlights. Great condition.
Size: H cup with handle 11,5cm – diameter saucer: 14,5 cm
Mark of the Royal manufactory of Vienna with the date 1822.

In 1718, Claudius Innocentius du Paquier took an immense risk and brought back from Meissen to Vienna the secret of how to make porcelain. In recognition of his achievements, Emperor Karl VI granted him the special privilege of being Vienna’s first and only porcelain manufacturer. In 1744, the Manufactory was taken under Imperial ownership by Empress Maria Theresia. Since then, the blue-striped shield from the coat of arms of the Dukes of Austria underneath the glaze was used to confirm authenticity. The production followed the latest Rocaille trend. The Manufactory enjoyed a golden age between 1784 and 1805 under the management of Conrad Sörgel von Sorgenthal. This “artistic period” of Classicism celebrated the return to straight lines and artistic styles from the Antiquity. During the Biedermeier era, Viennese porcelain became a status symbol for the aspiring middle classes.
The national and international competition forced the famous company to close down in 1864. Its extensive collection of designs was donated to the Museum of Art and Industry, (now the MAK).