Page 43 - Chinese Export Porcelain Art, MET MUSEUM 2003

45. Plate. Chinese (American (0
market), ca. I784-85. Hard
paste. Diam. 9'/2 in. (24.I cm).

Rogers Fund, I9I7 (I7-73)

This bears a rather whim-
plate
sicalAngel of Fame displaying
the blue and white ribbon and
emblem the Society of the
of
Cincinnati. Its underglaze
blue
Fitzhugh border-an elaborate
pattern of the late eighteenth
century incorporatingflowers,
pomegranates,
often butterflies,
and other Chinese motifs and
decoration corre-
its overglaze
spond to the large group of
porcelains owned by George ;: f
Washington (1732-i799) andt l f
Henry Lee (i756-I&88), each
of whom owned an extensive
service in thepattern.

Plate, detail of emblem of
Society of the Cincinnati
who had been aide-de-camp to George
Washington during the Revolutionary War
and later to General Henry Knox. Green and
Shaw were responsible to their investors not
only for guiding the ship safely from New
Empress China and back again but also for
P oYork to
navigating the intricacies of doing business
there. Shaw became an important figure in
promoting the taste for Chinese porcelain in

:
s : _ ; America and later was appointed the first
United States consul in Canton. When the
Empress of China arrived back in New York
Harbor on May 11, 1785, her cargo con-

sisted of precious silks, teas, fans (fig. 43),
umbrellas, window blinds, and porcelains
goods all actively sought by American

42