Lady at her Breakfast

Vienna|Claudius Innocentius Du Paquier period|François Boucher|Laurent Cars

1737–44 · Hard-paste porcelain · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Chocolate was often consumed at breakfast, usually in the privacy of the bedroom or dressing room. Here, a servant is presenting the beverage to a woman in a dressing gown; there are also sweet Savoy biscuits on the table. Chocolate was considered healthy, particularly for the stomach and the voice, and its consumption was permitted even during the fasting days of Lent, provided it was served without milk or eggs.

Artist

Vienna|Claudius Innocentius Du Paquier period|François Boucher|Laurent Cars

Date

1737–44

Medium

Hard-paste porcelain

Culture

Austrian, Vienna

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964