Casgliadau Arlein

Cabinet cup and saucer, soft-paste porcelain, the cup standing on three lion’s paw feet, of slightly tapering cylindrical form with everted rim, moulded ribs and two rows of applied pearls below the rim and above the base, an elaborate handle comprising an eagle and a snake joined at the mouth where they contest a ball, the circular saucer with a thick foot ring and two rows of applied pearls; the cup painted with three bronzed classical figures in silhouette on a pale blue ground, the handle and feet gilded, gilded decoration including a band of classical tripods and scrolled leaves and a row of pendent anthemions inside the rim, the saucer decorated to match with a band of pale blue enamel and gilded leaf motifs in a band inside the rim and radiating in a roundel in the centre.