Collections Online

The scene on this saucer is adapted from Bernard Picart's (1673 - 1733) 'Pèlerin de l"Isle de Cythère', published in 1708. In Greek mythology the island of Cythera was devoted to the cult of Aphrodite. The subject of couples visiting Cythera became a popular theme in the early eighteenth century, being depicted in engravings and paintings and also represented in the theatre, ballet and opera.