cup BM-1924-0717.1

Period:Qing dynasty Production date:1690-1710 (circa)
Materials:porcelain, blanc de chine,
Technique:painted
Subjects:food/drink bible miracles of christ fish
Dimensions:Height: 7.50 centimetres

Description:
Chinese porcelain cup, painted in Italy. The cup is of deep beaker form with flared rim. It is painted in red enamel in extremely fine brushwork with a continuous, highly detailed scene depicting a story from the Bible. It shows Jesus in a landscape surrounded by large crowds of people. Some of whom are carrying baskets. The foot of the cup is gilded. The cup is signed on the base in minute writing ‘Carlo Wendelin Anreiter di Ziernfeldt, Fierenze’.
IMG


Comments:Harrison-Hall and Krahl 1994:The story depicted is known as the miracle of the loaves and fishes and tells how Jesus, who had retired into the desert, was followed by a large crowd; this was unexpected and they had not enough food. He, however, fed them all by breaking the few loaves of bread and distributing the few fish they had brought among the thousands of followers who all got enough while much was left over. Johann Carl Wendelin Anreiter of Zirnfeld was a porcelain painter working in Vienna, Austria, as well as in Florence, Italy, particularly in the 1730s.