Washington Winter Show 2019

51 colonies that formed the United States. The striking design incorporates Martha Washington’s monogram within a laurel wreath and gilt sunburst; the ribbon-scroll inscription below declares decus et tutamen ab illo , a motto derived from Virgil’s Aeneid , meaning that the union’s strength is “a glory and defense.” The central motif is surrounded by a linked chain naming the nation’s then fifteen states. The border design—a blue serpent biting its tail—symbolizes eternity. Mrs. Washington gave several pieces from this service to friends as tokens of affection and then willed the remaining “tea china” to her grandson, George Washington Parke Custis. Seven of the twenty-some known pieces of the original “States China” have returned to Mount Vernon, and the design has inspired several appealing reproductions, themselves collectible. Mount Vernon’s Dining Room One of the most striking spaces in Mount Vernon is the dining room, part of the original house, built in 1734 by George Washington’s father, Augustine. It is an elegant and comfortable room, suitable for breakfasts, suppers, and dinners with ten or fewer people. This room underwent a series of updates during the late 18th century. In 1775, while Washington was away commanding the Continental Army, his cousin Lund Washington supervised the installation of elaborate woodwork and plasterwork. William Bernard Sears carved intricate shells, scrolls, and leafy foliage on the mantel and fireplace surround; his work is also found at nearby Gunston Hall and Pohick Church. An expert plasterer, identified only as the “Stoco Man” and the “French stucco man,” spent five months completing the hand-tooled decorative plaster ceiling and cornice as well as plaster ornaments in the overmantel. A 2001 restoration project uncovered some of this artisan’s original pencil drawing of the ceiling design. The striking verdigris-green paint dates to Washington’s renovations circa 1785, after his return from the war. He once declared to his London purchasing agent, Robert Cary, that green was “grateful to the Eye” and less likely than other colors to fade. The New Room Washington called the last addition and the grandest space in Mount Vernon the “New Room.” With its two-story-high ceiling, oversized Venetian window, refined architectural ornamentation, and formal symmetry, the New Room was an impressive showplace. Filled with stylish neoclassical furniture, landscape paintings, and historical prints, it vividly celebrated the republican ideals and values that were intrinsic to Washington’s vision for the new nation. Like the grand “saloons” of fashionable 18th-century English country homes, this room served several functions, Elegant and comfortable, Mount Vernon’s dining room features exuberant stucco work and striking verdigris-green walls.