Society of the Cincinnati dinner plate
Datec. 1785
Medium/TechniquePorcelain (hard-paste), enamel, gilt
DimensionsOverall: 1 in. × 9 1/2 in. × 9 5/8 in. (2.54 cm × 24.13 cm × 24.45 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Douglas and Eleanor Seaman Charitable Foundation in memory of Douglas Seaman, 2012
Object numberW-5299
DescriptionColorless feldspathic-glazed white porcelain (hard-paste) stand molded into a circular form with a wide, flat, scalloped rim. Decorated in hand painted under glaze blue and polychrome enamels. Along the outer rim is a band of gilding, beneath which is a thin band of joined circles, each containing a dot. Beneath is a band of blue, underneath which is 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 is a band of blue hexagonal diaper pattern that terminates in two thin blue bands. Extending from the foot of the interior is a border of gilded husk chain. At the center of the plate 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.The glaze has rubbed off in two spots over the wings of the figure.
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 35/1 (May 1937): 233, 234. (general reference)
Benson J. Lossing, Mount Vernon and its Associations, Historical, Biographical, and Pictorial (New York: C.A. Alvord, 1859), 240. (general reference)
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