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Plate (Dinner plate)
1879-1879
Description
This dinner plate once formed part of a service acquired by ex-US President Ulysses S. Grant when he and his wife visited Canton (now Guangzhou), China during an around-the-world trip. The fish motif (perhaps a stylized representation of a bream?) is said to have been inspired by designs on porcelain from Limoges in France. The Grants’ daughter, Ellen Wrenshall Grant Sartoris, eventually inherited the service.
Category
Ceramics
Place of Origin
Probably Guangzhou (Canton); China; Asia
Materials
- Porcelain (hard-paste)
- Lime (alkaline) glaze
Museum Object Number
2014.0016.234
Credit Line/Donor
Gift of Daniel and Serga Nadler
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Complete Details
Object Number
2014.0016.234
Object Name
Plate (Dinner plate)
Category
Ceramics - The Daniel and Serga Nadler Collection
Place of Origin
Probably Guangzhou (Canton); China; Asia
Date
1879-1879
Subject(s)
- American market (Chinese manufacture)
- Ulysses S. Grant
- American ownership history (foreign manuf)
Materials
- Porcelain (hard-paste)
- Lime (alkaline) glaze
Techniques
- Molded
- Painted
- Enameled
Dimensions (inches)
0.9375 (D) x 9.4375 (Diam)
Dimensions (centimeters)
2.381 (D) x 23.971 (Diam)
Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes
Book: Nadler, Daniel. 2001 China to Order: Focusing on the XIXth Century and Surveying Polychrome Export Porcelain, Produced During the Qing Dynasty, 1644-1908.
• Published: p. 166, no. 206, purchased by ex president Ulysses S. Grant and wife while in Canton. After Limoges design. Inherited by daughter Ellen Wrenshall Grant Sartoris.Catalogue: Chan, Libby Lai-Pak & Wan, Nina. 2018 The Dragon and the Eagle: American Traders in China, A Century of Trade from 1784–1900 (exhib. cat.).
• Plate from same service: vol. 1, p. 103, no. 1.35, noting acquired by Grant and wife in Hong Kong (arrived April 30, 1879) during their two-year world tour. Philadelphia Museum of Art collectionBook: Howard, David Sanctuary. 1984 New York and the China Trade. 142 p.
• Plate in similar pattern, overall, with differences in details, perhaps from same Grant service: p. 134, no. C125Book: Beurdeley, Michel & Raindre, Guy. 1986 Qing Porcelain: Famille Verte, Famille Rose 1644-1912.
• Oval dish portraying similar fish, with matching pierced tray: no. 310, c. 1880 (in Peabody Essex Museum collection). Discussed Limoges wares sent to America, some being copied in China.Electronic: Reddit. 10//2021 Ulysses S. Grant with Governor-General Li Hongzhang during his world tour in 1879 (Photo). 02/03/2023 https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryPorn/comments/pyv4iv/ulysses_s_grant_with_governorgeneral_li_hongzhang/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
• Black and white digital reproduction of "Ulysses S. Grant with Governor-General Li Hongzhang during his world tour in 1879"