Description:
Chinese export porcelain 50-piece teaset decorated with an American eagle and the gilt initials, "JSM" or "JLM", in the shield on the eagle's breast, which was ordered for a now unknown American family. The eagle design is a variant of the Great Seal of the United States, adopted by the Continental Congress in 1782, which depicts a circular cloudband with 13 stars over an eagle with outstretched wings; red and white striped shield across the chest; banner with the motto, "E. Pluribus Unum" in the beak; and an olive branch in the right talon and 13 arrows in the left. Elements from the Seal were immediately used on coinage and business documents which were probably the design source used by Chinese painters; once the United States established direct trade with China, those designs that appealed to the American taste quickly appeared on the market. One of the most recognizable designs aimed at the American market is the stylized version of the Great Seal of the United States. Chinese decorators produced this design in some quantity for those they called the “New People,” also known as the “Flowery Flag Devils” or “Second-chop Englishmen.” For the residents of a newly founded nation, the decoration undoubtedly produced a surge of pride and patriotism. Most of the Chinese porcelain shield-bearing eagles are of two types: 1) copying the Great Seal quite closely and showing an eagle with raised wings; 2) depicting a sparrow hawk or dove-like bird with inverted or downcurved wings and an arched sunburst rather than a circular cloud. Often the first type has good quality painting, while the quality of the second varies greatly; the shields of both types could have the proper stripes, initials, floral sprays, or nothing (to be filled in for special orders). The inverted-wing eagle was probably taken from the eagle on the Massachusetts copper cent and half cent first minted in 1787-1788; the sunburst was not used until the minting of the 2 1/2 dollar gold piece in 1796. This eagle was the most popular of all those that decorated Chinese porcelain, and the eagle design remained a stock pattern for the American market well into the 19th century. Similarly decorated tea services are known to have been purchased by prominent Americans such as President John Adams (1735-1826) and President Franklin Pierce (1804-1869). The eagle on this set has a sunburst arc over thirteen gold stars over its head, and holds an olive branch in its right talon and sheaf of arrows in its left talon. The set consists of: 2 teapots with covers, 2 sugar bowls with covers (both damaged), 1 coffeepot with cover, 1 cream pot, 1 waste bowl, 4 dishes (1 damaged), 11 teacups (1 cracked), 22 saucers, and 6 coffee cups (2 damaged).
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+63.077 |
