Plate

Dateca. 1770

MediumHard-paste porcelain

DimensionsOverall (Diameter): 9 3/4in. (24.8cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Buddy Taub Foundation, Dennis A. Roach and Jill Roach Directors

Object number2016-115

DescriptionPlate with quarterly arms and supporters of Alexander, Earl of Stirling beneath an earl's coronet. Made for William Alexander of New York.

The arms are of Alexander, Earl of Stirling, quarterly, 1st and 4th, Per pale argent and sable a chevron and in base a crescent, all counterchanged, 2nd and 3rd, Or a lymphad sable, sails furled and flags flying between three passant proper crosses crosslet fitched gules. The crest painted appears to be A beaver passant proper (but is recorded as A bear sejant proper). The supporters are correctly, dexter: An Indian with long hair and a dart in his right hand (here painted as a Scottish wild man with a club) and sinister, A mermaid with comb and mirror all proper. The motto, 'Per mare per terras'.
Label TextChinese export porcelain armorial services made for colonial Americans during the eighteenth century are rare. This plate was part of a large service ordered by William Alexander (1726-1783) around 1770. Alexander was born in New York, the son of lawyer James Alexander and his wife Mary. William studied law under his father’s guidance and in 1748 married Sarah Livingston, daughter of Philip Livingston, who later signed the Declaration of Independence. In 1757, Alexander traveled to Scotland to lay claim to the title, Earl of Stirling, the 5th Earl having died without a direct heir in 1739. The House of Lords decided that he did not have the right to the title until he could prove his claim, but this did not deter him. William Alexander returned to America and used the title and the coat of arms until his death.

Alexander became President of Columbia University and likely ordered this service around 1770. Orders like this of bespoke Chinese porcelain took a long time to complete as the order had to travel from New York to London and on to China. The completed goods then retraced that path. However, by the time the porcelain reached London in 1775 the American War of Independence had already begun and the service was impounded. Alexander served as a Brigadier General in Washington’s army and was captured by the British at the battle of Long Island in 1776.