Lot 4
Decorated Blue Canton China Export Dinner Plate, Octagonal, 18th Century. 9" in diameter. Repaired. Used by George and Martha Washington at Mount Vernon before and after the Presidency. A copy of a letter from Mount Vernon to Mr. Harkins states: "As your documentation indicates, the Chinese export plate in your collection was formerly owned by Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis of Woodlawn Plantation. Mrs. Lewis was the granddaughter of Martha Washington and, and she was raised by the Washingtons following her father's death. At the time of Martha Washington's death, Eleanor 'Nelly' Lewis inherited what Mrs. Washington termed 'all the blue and white china in common use.' This service likely included many pieces of the 'Table China fine blue & white' shipped to Mount Vernon in April of 1763, as well as the '27 Dishes' purchased by General Washington in 1783 from tavern keeper Samuel Fraunces in New York. Based on your photograph, the similarity of your plate to those in our collection, archaeological evidence, and other documented examples of Washington's blue and white porcelain, I find no reason to doubt that your plate was among the blue and white ceramics Mrs. Washington referred to as being 'in common use' at Mount Vernon. It is certainly a stellar example in a remarkable state of preservation."
Provenance:
1. Willed by Martha Washington to her granddaughter Eleanor Parke Lewis
2. Lawrence Lewis
3. H.L.D. Lewis, great-great granddaughter of Martha
4. Thos. Birch's Sons, Auctioneers, Philadelphia, Dec. 15, 1891, Lot 143
5. Joseph E. Fields, II
6. Hendershott Museum Consultants
7. Claude Harkins.
Estimated Value $6,000 - 8,000.
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