Two blanc de Chine English-decorated coffee cups or capuchins Kangxi 1662-1722

Two blanc de Chine English-decorated coffee cups or capuchins Kangxi 1662-1722, of slight thistle shape with a moulded ring near the foot, each later-enamelled in red, green and black, one with a Japanese couple standing either side of large floral panels and above a border of lappets, the other with small buildings and a figure before flowering branches, reserved in shaped panels on a red and white floral ground, 6.2cm. (2)

Provenance: the Helen Espir Collection, nos. 852 and 840.

Illustrated: Helen Espir, European Decoration on Oriental Porcelain, p.212, pl.11. Also ECC Transactions, Vol. 19, Part I, Errol Manners, The English Decoration of Oriental Porcelain, p.9, pl.21 for one cup.

This shape again derives from English stoneware and silver and these cups are a wonderful combination of a European shape in Chinese porcelain with Japanese-style decoration.