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Society of the Cincinnati soup plate

Soup plate
Porcelain, enamel, gilt
c. 1784-1785
Society of the Cincinnati soup plate
Soup plate
Porcelain, enamel, gilt
c. 1784-1785
Soup plate Porcelain, enamel, gilt c. 1784-1785
Status
Not on view
Label Text

As the Revolutionary War drew to a close, French and American officers formed the Society of the Cincinnati in the name of mutual support and friendship. The fraternity's name was inspired by the 5th-century B.C.E. Roman Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, who left his plow to defend Rome in battle, afterwards returning to his farm. George Washington, who resumed a private life at Mount Vernon after the war, was the Society's first President General. Washington perhaps sought to perpetuate his image as the modern-day Cincinnatus when he purchased an extensive Chinese export porcelain service decorated with a simplified version of the society's insignia - a gold eagle badge bearing an oval medallion containing a depiction of Cincinnatus receiving his sword from the Roman Senators. The majority of items in this unique set feature the trumpeting figure of Fame holding aloft the insignia.

See also soup plates, W-2559, and W-519; round dinner plates, W-1436/B, W-1436/G, W-1436/I, W-1436/ J, and W-1436/K; platter, W-1436/D; tea bowl, W-1436/A; tea caddy, W-3024/A; custard cups with lids, W-1436/C.1-2 and W-1436/F.1-2; custard cup lid, W-3045; tureen stand, W-4069; teapot and lid, W-1436/E.1-2; sauce tureen and lid, W-1436/H.1-2; and sauce tureen stand, W-4522.

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Datec. 1785
Geography Decorated - ChinaMade - China
DimensionsOverall: 1 5/16 in. x 9 3/4 in. (3.3 cm x 24.77 cm)
Credit LinePurchase, 1932
Object numberW-483
DescriptionColorless feldspathic-glazed white porcelain (hard-paste) bowl molded into a circular form with a wide, flat, scalloped rim and shallow well. Decorated in hand-painted under glaze blue and over glaze polychrome enamels. Along the outer rim is a band of gilding, beneath which is a thin band of joined circles, each containing a dot. Underneath is a band of blue, followed by a gilt band and another blue band. Extending towards the inner edge of the rim is a variation of what is commonly called the Fitzhugh design - a border featuring a hexagonal diaper pattern with alternating butterflies and foliage. On the wall of the interior reserve is a band of blue hexagonal diaper pattern, followed by two thin blue bands. Extending from the foot of the interior reserve is a border of gilded husk chain. At the center of the reserve is a polychrome enamel winged figure, representing "Fame," in a green robe and pink sash. The figure holds a trumpet in its right hand and the insignia of the Society of the Cincinnati in the left. The badge hangs from a knotted blue and white ribbon.
Published ReferencesSusan Gray Detweiler, American Presidential China: The Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art; New Haven, CT: In association with Yale University Press, 2008), 24-25. (general reference)

Carol Borchert Cadou, The George Washington Collection: Fine and Decorative Arts at Mount Vernon (New York: Hudson Hills Press, 2006), 108-109, 282-283. (general reference)

Susan Gray Detweiler, George Washington's Chinaware (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1982), 83-97, 191-192, 208-211. (general reference)

Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, Mount Vernon China (Mount Vernon, VA: The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, 1962), 17-21. (general reference)

The Editor's Attic, "George Washington's Cincinnati Porcelain," Magazine Antiques 31/5 (May 1937): 233, 234. (general reference)
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