This Chinese export milk jug, dating to the mid-18th century, is a refined and richly decorated piece that blends European mythological themes with Chinese porcelain artistry. Made in porcelain with a pear-shaped body and triangular spout, the jug was originally fitted with a lid—now missing—its unglazed inner rim still visible. A delicately curved handle sits opposite the spout, completing the graceful silhouette.
Painted in encre de Chine (black), iron-red, gold, and a soft pink gold wash, the jug features a mythological scene that draws from European engravings. Though often identified as Venus and Cupid, scholars suggest the figures may represent Flora and Zephyr—the goddess of flowers and the west wind—common subjects in romantic and erotic art of the time. The imagery, reminiscent of French engravings by Benoît Audran after Antoine Coypel, speaks to the 18th-century fascination with classical mythology and the cross-cultural artistry of the export porcelain trade. This jug is both a functional object and a delicate canvas for storytelling, merging East and West in porcelain form.
