Page 58 - Met Museum Export Porcelain 2003
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64. Cup and Saucer.Chinese (American market), I840-75. Hard paste. It is likely that the centennial also yielded
Cup: h. 2'/2 in. (6.5 cm). Saucer:diam. 53/4in. (14.6 cm). Bequest of porcelains with patriotic themes relating
R. Thornton Wilson, in memory of his wife, Florence Ellsworth Wilson, to the nation's early history, including
I977 (I977.216.I, .2) wares inspired by John Trumbull's iconic
Thedecorationon this unusualcupand saucerdepictsthesigning of the painting of the signing of the Declaration
DeclarationofIndependencea,sproclaimedin thebannercarriedin thebeakof of Independence (fig. 64).
theoversizespreadeagle.Here,the Chinesepainterscondensedand scaleddown
a versionof thefamousi786painting byJohnTrumbullin the UnitedStates By the late nineteenth century Chinese
Capitol.TheFoundingFathers,portrayedwith Asianfeaturesand without export porcelains, especially blue and white
theirpowderedwigs, have beentransformedinto nineteenth-centurygentlemen. wares, had achieved a status above the
60 merely utilitarian. Looked upon with nostal-
gia, they became emblematic of the colo-
nial era. That Chinese export porcelains
were very much valued by their owners is
evidenced by the number of pieces cher-
ished and carefully mended in order to
be handed down to future generations
(fig. 47). During the last decades of the
century Chinese export porcelains were
increasingly collected by connoisseurs, an
indication of a new antiquarian interest in
America's past. Indeed, today such porce-
lains open a window onto one aspect of
the lives of some of America's important
historical figures.
