Ice cream cup (Tasse à glace) (part of a service)

Art Historical Context

This delicate ice cream cup (T à glace), crafted by the renowned Sèvres Manuf in 1771, the pinnacle of 18th-century French porcelain artistry. Part of a larger service, this petite vessel—measuring just 2 5/8 × 2 7/8 × 2 3/8 inches—would have graced the tables of French aristocracy, holding luxurious frozen treats that were all the rage among the elite during the reign of Louis XV and early Louis XVI. Sèvres, the royal porcelain factory near Versailles, was celebrated for its soft-paste porcelain, a French innovation that produced finer, more translucent wares than earlier European attempts to rival Chinese hard-paste. Adorned with floral motifs, this cup showcases the manufactory's mastery of hand-painted decoration and gilding, blending Rococo elegance with emerging Neoclassical restraint. Ice cream cups like this highlighted porcelain's role in opulent dining rituals, symbolizing wealth and refinement. Bequeathed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Emma T. Gary in 1934, this piece invites us to savor a slice of Versailles glamour—imagine it chilled with vanilla or fruit sorbet, a sweet indulgence from a gilded age.

About the Artist

Sèvres Manufactory · 1740–present

The Sèvres Manufactory, one of Europe's premier porcelain producers, was established in 1740 as the Manufacture de Vincennes under the patronage of Queen Marie Leszczyńska, who sought to rival Meissen and Chantilly porcelains with French soft-paste innovations. Initially a private venture, it relocated to Sèvres in 1756 in a purpose-built facility designed by architect Laurent Lindet near Madame d...