The Meissen porcelain manufactory, which was founded in the early 18th century, was the first European factory to produce hard-paste porcelain. The decoration of early wares made by Meissen was inspired by Chinese and Japanese prototypes but from the 1730s, Meissen painters began to copy scenes from European engravings. The scene on this teapot is inspired by the works of the Flemish master David Teniers the Younger (1610-1690), one of the leading genre painters of his day. Surrounding it are scattered Holzschnitt Blumen (woodcut flowers), a style of floral decoration that originated in the 1740s, which takes its name from botanical woodcut illustrations and copper-plate engravings used as design sources by Meissen decorators.
