Johann Gregorius Höroldt was one of the most skilled painters working at the Meissen porcelain manufactory. From around 1720, he introduced specific decorative schemes based on chinoiserie or European scenes, framed by cartouches with strapwork and foliate decoration. Höroldt was instrumental in the introduction of a wide range of enamel colours to the factory and the discovery of durable gilding, which became a dominant feature of Meissen decoration. This tea bowl and saucer is decorated with hunting scenes and would have most likely been part of a larger tea and coffee service when it was originally made. A number of these were intended for the Japanese Palace of Augustus the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, who was not only a passionate huntsman but was also a most enthusiastic porcelain collector. The hunting scene in the cartouche on the cup depicts two huntsmen, one wearing a hat and armed with a musket, while the other drinks from a fountain. On the saucer, a hunting party made up of three mounted piqueurs are following a hound keeper with his pack on the trail of a deer.
