Hand-painted Demitasse cup and saucer, possibly German/Austrian circa 1840-1860 Ref.84
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Hand-painted Demitasse cup and saucer, possibly German/Austrian circa 1840-1860 - Ref.84
The Demitasse (pronounced-"dem-i-tas"), originated in France in the 1800's. Demitasse means "half-cup", due to it typically being half the size of a full cup. There are two theories about the Demitasse, in the 1840's coffee and tea were expensive commodities and this led to the small 'English' tea mug, later evolving into the larger teacup, whilst, in France, coffee being the preferred drink, the smaller sized cup was produced so not as much beverage was served. The other theory is that the smaller half cup is for drinking stronger coffee's such as Turkish coffee, typically served after dinner.
I have not been able to identify the maker of the demitasse offered above, nor the country of origin. I suspect it could either be from Germany, Austria or even France, the typical panels of "Romantic scenes' being favoured by all three countries. What I can identify is that the set is old, dating, I believe to the early 1840's. Manufactured of porcelain, it shows an 'overglazed' decoration on the cup and saucer of hand-painted 'romantic' scenes with a background of foliage in bright colors on a black background followed by some gilding. 'Overglazing' means that the cup was first glazed and then painted and re-heated at a much lower temperature to 'set' the colours. The pigments used in that era would not stand up to the heat of the furnace for re-glazing. Overglazing could only be used on decorative articles such as vases, lamps, or, as in this case, cups which were not used daily as the hand-painting and gilding were subject to wear, scratches etc. The porcelain body is a very light white-grey color with a heavy glaze. This was typical of the early 1800's,the process of glazing still had to be refined. Look carefully at the glaze and you will see it has an 'orange-peel' effect with numerous small bubbles and blow-holes, all typical of this period. Some very small 'brown' spots can be observed on the base of the cup, evidence that it was fired in a coal-burning furnace. All in all, quite a stunning piece! I have spent literally days trying to google information on the set, but, I cannot even find a similar design nor a similar shaped cup.
The cup stands just 5.3cm in height with a diameter at the top of 5.5cm. The saucer, with a height of 1.5 cm, has a diameter of 11.2 cm. Both remain in excellent condition with no cracks nor chips. No rubbing marks or scratches can be seen and the paintings are well preserved. Only a slight loss of gilding to the handle is evident and an even slighter loss to the rim of the cup and saucer. 
This is a genuine antique. Please remember the classification of an 'antique' is that it should be 100 years old, OR MORE. There are many articles being offered as 'antiques' when, clearly, they are not.
Price R370.00 Post R45.00
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