Dessert plate

Dessert dish
Porcelain (soft-paste), gilt
Maker: Caughley porcelain factory
c. 1785-1795

Status

Not on view

Label Text

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.

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Date1785-1795

Maker Caughley Porcelain Factory (English, 1775 - 1814)

Geography Made - England

Medium/TechniquePorcelain (soft-paste), gilt

DimensionsOverall (H x W x D): 1 in. x 8 3/8 in. x 8 3/8 in. (2.54 cm x 21.29 cm x 21.29 cm)

Credit LineGift of William Wilson Corcoran, 1879

Object numberW-663

DescriptionDessert plate with scalloped rim and underglaze blue and gilt decoration; rim is shaped in a series of alternating wide and narrow scallops; rim is decorated with a plain gilt border followed by an underglaze blue border with a fish roe design in gilt, a plain gilt border, and a gilt beaded border; the well of the plate is decorated with a bouquet of flowers at the center surrounded by six sprigs of flowers evenly spaced around the outer edge of the well; elements of the floral decoration, such as the center of the blossoms, and a large leaf in the center bouquet are rendered in underglaze blue, but the majority of the design is gilded; puddling of glaze on reverse has a blue-green tint.
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.

MarkingsUnderglaze factory mark in blue, on reverse of plate, inside foot rim at center: "S".

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