a pair of polychrome painted eggshell cups and saucers ca. 1735

See exh. cat. Chinese Export Porcelain, Brussels, 30/11/1989-27/02/1990, cat. no. 74, p.196, for a similar cup and saucer. According to the author C.J.A. Jörg is the monkey In European iconography a symbol of sexual desire and lust, while the cage with the bird inside alludes to chastity. This decoration therefore had a explicit erotic connotation. The source of this design, which is very rare on chine de commande, is still unknown.