Dessert dish
When financier and art collector William Wilson Corcoran acquired this dish, it came with a history of having been owned by George Washington. No evidence to confirm this tradition has come to light, but Washington would likely have been familiar with similar wares used in the homes of his contemporaries. Its colorful, gilded surface is characteristic of the luxury goods produced by innovative English potteries in imitation of European and Chinese porcelains.
Published ReferencesSusan Gray Detweiler, American Presidential China (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2008), 32. (general reference)
Susan Gray Detweiler, George Washington's Chinaware (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1982), 144, 146.