Tankard
ca. 1735
The subject of this tankard is known in China as fu lu shou, meaning happiness, official position, and longevity. It is not likely that the porcelain painters at Meissen were familiar with the significance of this scene. It represents an importation of style, not meaning. This rare tankard is from a service made for an Englishman, the second Earl of Jersey. For those who could afford them, Meissen services became de rigueur in the 1730s and 1740s.
Hard paste porcelain
6 in. (15.3 cm), height without lid
3 3/4 in. (9.53 cm), diameter
Gift of Martha and Henry Isaacson
58.100
Provenance: Formerly in Villiers family for some 220 years; Mr Ralph H. Wark, Hendersonville, N.C., Coll.; sold to Mr and Mrs Henry and Martha Isaacson, August 1958; gift from Mr and Mrs Henry and Martha Isaacson to Seattle Art Museum, Washington, 1958