Images(2)

Plate

Dateca. 1800

MediumBone china

DimensionsOverall: 15/16 × 8 1/2in. (2.4 × 21.6cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, Dr. and Mrs. William J. Bennett, Dr. and Mrs. Alan M. Bolash, Dr. and Mrs. John P. Doley, Mr. and Mrs. Roger W. Hall, Sr., Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Hilb, Mr. and Mrs. Bruce D. McRitchie, Mrs. Marvin F. West, and David and Sally Whiting in memory of Dr. Richard I. Kent

Object number2020-115

DescriptionPlate of circular shape with broad rim supported on footring. Decorated with black hand-painted scalloped border on the edge of the rim and dotted wriggled or wavy line at the cavetto. The center of the well is transfer printed with the motto "PLURIBUS UNIM" in a banner and fifteen stars above a spread eagle with striped shield all making up a version of the Great Seal.
Label TextBearing a version of the Great Seal, this English-made plate was clearly destined for the American market in the post-Revolution era. To date, only an intact cup and saucer are known with this same transfer print and border decoration, and this rare plate makes the third intact example and the only one of its form currently identified.

Despite the scarcity of extant examples, archaeological finds in Alexandria, Virginia uncovered a Staffordshire porcelain coffee cann with the same decorative motif. The fragments were recovered in a well behind the site of the shop of Alexandria cabinetmaker James Green. These fragments and other commemorative wares from Alexandria are discussed in Barbarba Magid’s article ”Commemorative Wares in George Washington’s Hometown” which appears in the 2004 issue of the journal Ceramics in America.
InscribedThe transfer print contains "PLURIBUS / UNIM" in a banner separated by the turned head of the spread eagle.