Coffee Cup – Manufacture Elite Works (Bawo & Dotter) – Limoges, c. 1896–1910

Very fine white Limoges porcelain coffee cup, produced by the Elite Works manufactory, with a particularly refined form. The cylindrical body features slightly moulded vertical facets and rests on a base adorned with soft reliefs reminiscent of Rocaille / Neo-Rococo decoration.

The piece is distinguished above all by its finely modelled porcelain handle, with flowing, curved lines that extend the decorative character of the base. Entirely white and free of painted decoration, it highlights the modelling and quality of the porcelain.

The mark on the underside depicts Saint Martial, patron saint of Limoges, accompanied by the inscriptions “Elite Works” and “Limoges France”. Elite Works was the porcelain manufactory of Bawo & Dotter, a New York company that produced porcelain in Limoges, particularly for the American market. The manufactory began producing its own porcelain in 1896; its activity was interrupted during the First World War and resumed until 1932.