Sauceboat

Artist Emile Gallé (French, 1846-1904)

Dateabout 1895

Dimensions5 3/8 × 4 1/8 × 8 1/2 in. (13.7 × 10.5 × 21.6 cm)

Mediumglazed earthenware / ceramic

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LineGift of Miss Dorothy-Lee Jones

Object number

1970.44

Not on View

Label TextAn example of a “boudoir” scene, this image both amuses and titillates with its interrupted narrative. The details of the painting tell the story: the woman’s reclining pose and disarrayed gown; her startled reaction to the apparent unexpected arrival of someone (her husband?) who is greeted by the leaping dog; the hot chocolate service for two; and the hastily overturned chair. An engraved copy of the painting made in 1785 makes the story even more explicit: the head of a hiding lover was added at the right peeking from behind the bed draperies.