Dessert Plate

Gallery 106, American Art, first floor (McNeil Presidential China Gallery)

Main Building

Dessert Plate

1817

Made by the partnership of Dagoty and Honoré, Paris (1816–1820)

The first surviving official (state) service is the dessert service for thirty persons ordered by President Monroe in 1817. As the first porcelain specifically commissioned for use in the White House, the design featured an elaborate decorative program of national symbolism created especially for the President’s House. The amaranth border refers to a color and a flower believed never to fade, and therefore, to be immortal. The vignettes in the border represent strength, agriculture, commerce, art, and science. The Arms of the United States in the center of the plate, presented as an ascendant eagle, probably derive from American coinage of about 1810.

Gallery 106, American Art, first floor (McNeil Presidential China Gallery)

Object Details

Title:

Dessert Plate

Date:

1817

Artist:

Made by the partnership of Dagoty and Honoré, Paris (1816–1820)

Medium:

Porcelain with transfer-printed, enamel, and gilt decoration

Dimensions:

Diameter: 8 5/8 inches (21.9 cm)

Classification:

Containers

Credit Line:

Gift of the McNeil Americana Collection, 2006

Accession Number:

2006-3-49

Geography:

Made in Paris, France, Europe

Context:

Reign: James Monroe (1817-1825)

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Gallery 106, American Art, first floor (McNeil Presidential China Gallery)

Main Building

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