Page 39 - Met Museum Export Porcelain 2003

43. Fan. Chinese (American market), ca. i8oo-i8io. Ivory.W. I67/8 in. (42.9 cm). Gift
of Mrs. Morgan Grinnell, 1932 (32.134.1)

This Chineseexportfan bearsthe monogramRO within a shieldand wasprobablyimported
by CaptainJohn Osgood(1758-1826)of Salem,MassachusettsT. heciphermayrefereither
to Osgood'swife, Rebeccao, rto his daughterof thesamename,in whosefamilythefan
descendedF. ordecadesfanswerea stapleof thefancygoodscomingfromChina,and they
wereincludedin the inventoryof theEmpress of China'first returnvoyage.Theirintricate
carving helda particularfascinationforWesterners.

44. Pagoda. Chinese, ca. 1785-92. Ivory and wood. H. 433/4in. (III.I cm). Rogers Fund,
1958 (58.73a)

Thisextraordinarilydelicateand intricatenine-storyivorypagodahasa historyof having
beenbroughtbackfromChinaby SamuelShaw, whogave it to a relativeof his wifes, Mrs.
Josiah (AbigailPhillips) QuincyJr. Thepagoda,whichmiraculouslysurviveswith the
originalwoodencaseusedto transportitfrom China,wasprominentlydisplayedin various
Quincyfamilyhouseholdsin Boston,Cambridgea, nd Quincy,MassachusettsF. rom1829
until 1845itgracedAbigail'ssonshouseat Harvard Universityduringhis tenureaspresident.
Theopenworkpagodais completewith carvedbellssuspendedfromeachroof afretwork
fence, and willowy, overscaleflowersof stained ivory.A vitrine with classicaldecorative
rosettesm, adetoprotectthefragilepagoda,survives.It datesto as earlyas 800oand hasbeen
describedas having beendesignedbythearchitectCharlesBufinch (1763-1844).

4I