Cup with a lid

The cup with a lid is made of ivory. It has a cylindrical shape, and its belly is decorated with deeply carved relief presenting on one side a medallion with a bust of Augustus II surrounded with an inscription: Fridericus Augustus II Rex Poloniae M.D.L. (the three letters are an abbreviation of Magnus Dux Lithuaniae). The medallion with the signature is placed between two escutcheons with coats of arms of Poland and Lithuania and Saxony. The cup has a silver-gilt setting consisting of an oval base, a handle and a movable lid with two putti holding an escutcheon with the Pilawa coat of arms (of the Potocki family). On the other side of the escutcheon, in the acanthus leaves, there is a visible date: 1697 d.15.Sept. On the internal side of the foot, there is also a signature of one of the authors: MOREL ET Cie ORFEVRES PARIS 59. RUE Nve ST. AUGUSTIN, who created the setting for the ivory part of the mug. This very impressive object, which is connected with one of the royal inhabitants of the Wilanów palace through the image in the medallion (Augustus II leased Wilanów in the years 1730–1733), can be found in publications concerning the history of the mansion. Among them, it is necessary to mention Willanów. An Album of Views and Souvenirs... by W. Gerson and H. Skimborowicz – an album published in 1877 under the auspices of the then administrator of Wilanów Aleksandra Potocka (1818–1892). It was (and still is) an exclusive, richly illustrated (using the woodcut technique) publication serving as an invaluable testimony to the former appearance of the palace and the collections kept there. On page 146 of the album, the text contains a fragment that we can associate with the object described here: ‘A high-relief ivory mug, set in silver with a lid and a handle, also made of gilded silver. The 17th-century product shows a bust of the king surrounded with a convex inscription … The contemporary Paris setting, Mr. Froment Meurice, shows little angels holding a double enamel escutcheon with Pilawa coats of arms on the lid.’ François Désiré Froment-Meurice (1802–1855) was a Paris goldsmith and jeweller whose works gained recognition among his contemporaries. The objects made by him were added to collections of the wealthiest recipients, such as Emperor Napoleon III. In this context, the commissioning of the contemporary setting of the mug by the Potocki family to this artist is interesting and meaningful.