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Furstenberg Coffee Cup & Saucer, Queen Catherine of Westphalia c.1810
Furstenberg model 19 in heavy gilt finish with crown and cypher of Queen Catherine of Westphalia.
Description
A rare Empire-period gilt porcelain cup and saucer, by Porzellanmanufaktur Fürstenberg, decorated with the crowned cipher “C” of Queen Catherine of Westphalia, wife of Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia, circa 1807–1813.
Provenance
Queen Catherine of Westphalia (1808-?)
History & Context
Coffee cup & saucer with crown and initial C for Catherine, Queen of Westphalia and wife of Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte.
A rare Empire-period porcelain cup and saucer, by Porzellanmanufaktur Fürstenberg, richly decorated in burnished gold and centred with a white circular reserve enclosing a crowned cipher “C” within a laurel wreath, traditionally associated with Queen Catherine of Westphalia (1783–1835), wife of Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia. The elegant restrained decoration reflects the refined court taste cultivated at Kassel during the Napoleonic Kingdom of Westphalia (1807–1813), where French imperial style merged with German princely traditions.
The finely potted cup, with its delicately rising loop handle and understated neo-classical design, is characteristic of luxury German porcelain produced during the late Empire period, while the isolated royal cipher strongly suggests intimate court or household use rather than commercial production. Comparable dynastic monogrammed objects associated with the Westphalian court survive in German collections, including engraved glass bearing the crowned cipher of Jérôme Napoléon preserved in Kassel.
Marks & Inscriptions
Painted
F = Furstenberg