Images(2)

Plate

Dateca. 1815

OriginAsia, China, Jingdezhen

MediumPorcelain, hard-paste

DimensionsDiameter: 9 7/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, C. Thomas Hamlin III Fund

Object number2019-81

DescriptionPlate: circular plate with broad and slightly flared up-turned rim decorated with a border of gilt swags with puce mantels interrupted by iron red roundels having puce centers painted with white flowers made up of five dots; the well of the plate is painted in gilt script with the following: "J. C. Smith / Remember / the / Pacific". The gilding on the border is very worn.
Label TextWhile many examples of personalized commemorative wares exist in English pottery, few examples are known in Chinese porcelain made for the western market. This plate is one of two known surviving plates with the inscription “J. C. Smith / Remember / the / Pacific”. J. C. Smith may be John Correy Smith who was a merchant involved in Asiatic commerce. Between 1825 and 1828 he served as manager of the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society and by 1831 was president of the Insurance Company of North America (also in Philadelphia). Smith helped back various shipping ventures involved in the China trade. The ship Pacific made at least one voyage to Asia.

The plate is a rare survival and an important commemorative piece that helps to tell the story of the American China Trade. Until recently it was surmised that such wares were “one-offs,” but the existence of at least one other plate with the same border and bearing the same inscription suggests that this plate may have been part of a larger service.
InscribedCavetto of plate painted in gilt script: "J. C. Smith / Remember / the / Pacific".
ProvenancePurchased by dealer from Eugene Sussel, son of longtime Philadelphia antiques dealer Arthur J. Sussel. According to Arthur Sussel, he acquired the plate directly from "the Smith family" in Philadelphia and had it in his possesion in 1942 when it was published in the Magazine Antiques (January 1942, page 77).