The Porcelain Museum

FRIENDSHIP OR LOVE?

The chocolate cup and its saucer were painted with pansies around 1796 and already reveal themselves as a gift to a sweetheart. Or perhaps to a close friend? Pansies, in this case viola tricolor, the tricoloured violet, also called Dreyfaltigkeitsblume in German, stands in floral language for modest, reserved love. Once also known as a Denkblume, a flower of thoughts or memory, thus the French name pensées. Pensées, the thoughts, speak for themselves and are evident in the enigmatic depiction of the medallion on the front of the mug. Cupid himself sits on a seesaw, held aloft in suspension by a lady garlanded with flowers. However, her victory is set on a fragile base, the remains of an ancient column. Cupid's bow and arrow lie on the ground out of reach of the naughty god of love. Next to the lady, a medallion with a monogram MDG perhaps points to the recipient of this gift, a second wreath of flowers is held above it. A victory wreath? A banner spreads out below the scene, 'L'amitié l'emporte'. Friendship triumphs. In the background of the miniature painting executed in dreamy sepia, a volcanic eruption can be seen. Is more than friendship being given here after all?

The outcome remains a mystery of history. What is certain is that this ensemble was an individually composed commissioned work, the bearer of a delicate message. Whether it was the one longed for? In any case, one consolation remains. The hot chocolate that was drunk in such cups. Actually called a trembleuse, the cup stands stably in a slightly higher ring in the middle of the saucer. The purpose of this invention was to prevent the spilling of a sweet cup's contents by trembler, French for 'trembling'. Hot chocolate was often drunk in the morning, preferably in bed before getting up, or immediately afterwards in front of the toilette mirror. Getting ready took a long time and was shortened by entertaining company. A pour-proof chocolate cup was a commodité, one of those immensely practical and at the same time charming novelties of the 18th century.