Saucer (soucoupe enfoncé)

Sèvres Manufactory

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The socketed saucer (soucoupe enfoncé) provided stability by means of the deep well in which the cup sat. This type of cup, likely intended for milk drinks, was probably also used for hot chocolate; a 1771 French catalogue refers to this form as a chocolate cup. It is now thought that the gobelet et soucoupe enfoncé was for use by the sick. It was probably designed for Madame du Pompadour (d. 1764), the only purchaser of this specific type of cup and saucer during her lifetime. Later examples were acquired primarily by the French royal family or by members of the court.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art