Washington Winter Show 2019

50 private life at Mount Vernon, he was widely celebrated as the American Cincinnatus; he served as the organization’s first “president general” from its founding in 1783 until his death, sixteen years later. In 1786, Washington purchased an extensive service of Chinese export porcelain (302 pieces), decorated with a simplified version of the society’s insignia: a spread-winged eagle bearing an oval medallion containing a depiction of Cincinnatus receiving his sword from the Roman senators. On most of the pieces, the winged trumpeting figure of Fame bears the insignia aloft. Custom-decorated in Canton, the Cincinnati porcelain service arrived in the United States aboard the Empress of China , the first American vessel to trade directly with that far- away realm. After being used in the president’s houses in both New York and Philadelphia, the service returned to Mount Vernon and remained in use there until Mrs. Washington’s death, in 1802. Her will specified that her grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, should have the “set of Cincinati [ sic ] tea and Table China.” Secondhand Sèvres As president, George Washington desired tableware that struck a stylistic balance between not appearing too regal and being sufficiently refined to impress foreign dignitaries. Furthermore, he recognized a good bargain when he saw one. In March 1790, he purchased from the departing French minister, the Comte de Moustier, a 309-piece dinner-and-dessert service. Moustier had acquired most of these porcelains from the royal manufactory produce plain white pieces free of any decoration that could mask flaws. The white-and-gold combination also offered the Washingtons’ guests a subtle reference to ancient white- marble statuary and republican ideals. After the presidency, the Washingtons brought their Sèvres pieces home to Mount Vernon, continuing to use them in retirement. In the summer of 1798, the visiting Polish count Julian Niemcewicz noted in his journal that he had enjoyed a festive dinner with the table “set out with a Sèvres porcelain service with places for 20.” At a sale following Martha Washington’s death, the service was divided and purchased by her granddaughters, Eliza Parke Custis Law, Martha Parke Custis Peter, and Eleanor (Nelly) Parke Custis Lewis. Lady Washington’s China In April 1796, the Dutch merchant Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest arrived in Philadelphia from Canton with “A Box of China for Lady Washington.” Van Braam had prospered in the Dutch East India Company and intended to make America his new home. He personally designed the porcelain’s decoration to celebrate the unification of the Similar to one owned by the Washingtons, this simple yet elegant French porcelain chiller was used to serve ice cream and custard. This plate is the best preserved example from the striking States pattern porcelain service, which incorporates Mrs. Washington’s monogram in the center of its unusual and highly symbolic design. at Sèvres in 1778, and then added pieces from other French factories over the next decade. Their pure white surfaces are adorned only by gilded rims, a design markedly different from the lush colors and elaborate ornament usually associated with 18th-century Sèvres. Such understated elegance enjoyed a vogue among some members of the French aristocracy, as discerning consumers valued the exacting craftsmanship required to