Cup and Saucer (Trembleuse)

In the 1700s, this double-handled cup would probably have been used to serve coffee or hot chocolate. Following the Chinese and Japanese custom, Europeans in the 1700s usually drank tea from small handleless bowls. Cups made at the Du Paquier porcelain manufactory were tall, higher than they were wide, and could be unstable. For this reason, the factory developed a trembleuse (literally "trembling") form, in which a raised ring or basket on the saucer held the cup in place and prevented spillage caused by a shaky hand. Porcelain painters often imitated engravings with black enamel decoration known as schwarzlot ; this decoration was typical of the Du Paquier factory.