Painted by Dannhöfer with scenes from the life of Moses in purple camaieu. Cup: 6,6 cm high; Ø 6,8 cm; Saucer: Ø13,3 cm; No marks; no incised marks; purple colour darkened by firing; Du Paquier 1725/30
Provenance: Cup and saucer come from the collection of Dr. Siegfried Ducret, Swiss (Hayward 1952 T. 53 a). Ducret illustrated them in his book "Keramik und Graphik" 1973 together with the engraving (No.48, No.49)
Cup and saucer are painted with biblical scenes of the life of Moses. They are origin of copperplate engravings by Matthäus Merian the Elder (1595-1650), who created more than 200 biblical copperplate engravings between 1625 and -28 for the Luther Bible published in Strasbourg in 1630. The work was published by Peter Hendrik Schut of Amsterdam and in the publishing house there of Nicolaes Visscher under the title:
"Bybel Printen Vertoonende de Voornaemste Historien der Heilige Schrifture konstigh afgebeelt door Mathaeus Merian aerdigh geteeckent en in Koper gemaeckt door Pieter Hendricksz Schut" of 1659 (Thieme Becker vol. 34 p.414) which was probably available to the manufactory’s painterrs.
Beaker (no. 122) shows on one side the scene "The killing of the boys Israel" and "Pharaoh's daughter finds the reed basket with Moses" (Moses 2,1-10, illustration of the engraving in Ducret fig. 49). The saucer bears a scene based on Moses 5:1-21. Moses shows the people of Israel the tablet of the law which he received from God on Mount Sinai.
