Coffee Cups and Saucers – Manufacture Jean Pouyat – Limoges, c. 1900–1910

Magnificent set of four coffee cups and matching saucers in Limoges porcelain, made by Jean Pouyat around 1900–1910.

Made of white glazed hard-paste porcelain, the cups feature a simple and elegant shape, highlighted by a fine gold rim. The hand-painted decoration combines delicate flowering branches with butterflies, birds, and dragonflies, in a subtle palette of grey, blue, yellow, and pink.

Lightly rendered against the luminous white porcelain, the motif perfectly evokes the naturalistic taste of the Belle Époque. The presence of insects and small flowering branches reflects the decorative aesthetic of the period, at the intersection of Japonism and a growing fascination with the observation of nature.

The four cups are accompanied by their matching saucers, also decorated with flowering branches and enhanced with a fine gold rim.

A particularly refined, almost poetic set, both delicate and graphic, representative of Limoges porcelain from the early 20th century. The handle of one cup has been restored.