Martha Washington States China covered cup
Label Text
On April 24, 1796, Dutch merchant Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest (1739-1801) arrived in Philadelphia from Canton with "A Box of China for Lady Washington." Van Braam designed the porcelain's decoration, which symbolizes his belief in the unity of the colonies that formed the United States and his scorn for their former ruler, King George III.
Martha Washington's Will refers to Van Braam's gift as "tea china." However, two-handled covered cups such as this were used in Europe for serving chocolate and caudle, a warm spiced drink of wine or ale. Chocolate was served for breakfast at Mount Vernon, and Mrs. Washington perhaps occasionally used Van Braam's so-called "States china" to serve this exotic drink.
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Date1795
Designer
Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest
(1739-1801)
Medium/TechniquePorcelain (hard-paste), enamel, gilt
DimensionsOverall (H x W x D, cup and lid): 4 3/4 in. × 5 3/8 in. × 3 3/8 in. (12.07 cm × 13.65 cm × 8.57 cm)
Overall (cup): 3 1/8 in. × 5 1/8 in. × 3 1/4 in. (7.94 cm × 13.02 cm × 8.26 cm)
Overall (lid): 1 3/4 in. × 3 3/4 in. × 3 3/4 in. (4.45 cm × 9.53 cm × 9.53 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Francis P. Garvan, 1948
Object numberW-1497/A&C
DescriptionA: Double-handled circular cup with sides molded with a wide astragal at top and rounded at bottom, single-cusped ear-shaped handles on opposite sides, and a shallow foot ring. The cup is decorated in overglaze polychrome enamels and gilt. The center front of the cup features the interlocking black initials “MW” surrounded by a green laurel wreath at the center of a gilded sunburst. Below the sunburst is a ribbon, touched red at the tips, with the motto “DECUS ET TUTAMEN AB ILLO" written in black. A blue snake, biting its tail, with gilded scales and its top outlined in black, encircles the top of the rim exterior. Below it is a chain of fifteen wide green links outlined in black joined by smaller gilded links, outlined in red; each of the green links contains the name of a state: “VIRGINIA”, “KENTUCKY”, “No CAROLINA”, “So CAROLINA”, “GEORGIA”, “NEW HAMPSHIRE”, “MASSACHUSETTS”, “VERMONT”, “RHODE ISLAND”, “CONNECTICUT”, “NEW YORK”, “IERSEY”, “PENNSYLVANIA”, “DELAWARE”, and “MARYLAND”, respectively. The cusps on the handles are gilded. Gilded scrollwork appears on the top of one handle; nothing remains of the decoration on the other. Traces of gilt appear around the edge of the cup. Pattern name: States C: High-domed circular lid with a scalloped rim, the remains of a knop, and a high foot ring, decorated in overglaze polychrome enamels and gilt. Around the knop at the top of the dome is a green laurel wreath at the center of a gilded sunburst. A blue snake, biting its tail, with gilded scales and its top outlined in black, encircles the rim. The base of the knop is touched in gilt. Pattern name: States
Published ReferencesHannah Boettcher and Ronald W. Fuchs II, "Martha Washington's 'United States China': A New Link Found in a Family Notebook," Ceramics in America (Milwaukee: Chipstone Foundation, 2020), 60.
Carol Borchert Cadou, The George Washington Collection: Fine and Decorative Arts at Mount Vernon (New York: Hudson Hills Press, 2006), 149.
James C. Rees, Treasures from Mount Vernon: George Washington Revealed (Mount Vernon, VA: Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, 1999), 114.
Susan Gray Detweiler, George Washington's Chinaware (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1982), 151, 154-158.
Mount Vernon China (Mount Vernon: Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, 1949), 22-24.
Susan Gray Detweiler, American Presidential China (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2008), 26-27.
Jaap van Braam Houckgeest, “Hidden meaning,” The Magazine Antiques 166/4 (October 2004), 38, 40.
Jean McClure Mudge, Chinese Export Porcelain in North America (New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1986), 215.
Jean Gordon Lee, Philadelphians and the China Trade 1784-1844 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1984), 88-89.
Arlene M. Palmer, A Winterthur Guide to Chinese Export Porcelain (New York: Crown Publishers Inc., 1976), 130.
Jean McClure Mudge, Chinese Export Porcelain for the American Trade, 1785-1835 (Wilmington: University of Delaware Press, 1962), 153, 174.
Samuel W. Woodhouse, Jr., “Martha Washington’s China and ‘Mr. Van Braam,’” The Magazine Antiques 27/5 (May 1935): 186-188.
Benson J. Lossing, Mount Vernon and its Associations: Historical, Biographical, and Pictoral (New York, New York: W. A. Townsend, 1859), 240-241.
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