The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1880-07-24
Our 0liu.
State Porcelain for the White House.

~~NN%A-@+ AsA tAN WAAAS AeA1If
The new aud beautiful porcelain service
for the White House was received there
last evening. Il is from the potteries Of
Hayilaud & Co., Americans, who arc To-
Gated at Limoges, France. In the spring
oil 1879 an order was given to this firm
to furnish the Executive Mansion with |
dinner service, which, as ii was to be used
only on state occasions, Mrs Hayes desired
should combine elegance with appropriate
American decoration. Mr.. Theodore Ha- 1
viiand called to his aid Theodore II. Davis,
the artist for Harpers, who undertook the
invention Of designs FOR shapes and color
to be reproduced in chinaware. The yari-
ed experience Of Mr.. Davis as an artist
aud as student of nature and animal life
peculiarly fitted him for the work. The
designs for the service were made in water
color and although in nearly every in
stance bold and striking, they were diff
cult to reproduce perfectly upon porcelain
with hard mineral color. To successfully
accomplish this it was necessary to invent
new methods aud to have recourse to pc.
culiar mechanical appliances A high de-
gree of finish was attained in every piece.
Some Of the pieces, when singly examined,
lose a part Of their attractiyeness, but,
when placed upon the table, the effect is
very pleasant and striking. The artists
who assisted Mr.. Davis were all foreign
ers. They were Braequemond and To-
cham, from Auteuil; Valentine and Cor.
mault, Paris; Lambert, Seyres; Lissac,
Chadal, Valette, Charles Ricroch, Bar
BARN, Laforest, Hayon, Duclair, Domiui-
que and Mile. Anna, of Limoges.
The sets are composed as follows-A
special oyster plate; soup plates, designed
with twelve subjects: Mountain laurel, the
blue crab, Indian cook Of the XIV cen :
tury, palmetto cabbage, harvest moon,
tomato, green turtle, southwark fight Of
ducks, clam bake, frog, 177G, and okra.
The fish series is composed Of twelve sub
jccts, which decorate plates shaped ex-
prossly for this course, aud platter which
exhibits a careful study Of the shad. The
subjects are thesc:-Red snapper, Spanish
maekerel, terrapin, speckled trout, black
bass, smelt, striped bass, fresh.water lob,
ster, pompano, brook-pike, blue FISH and
sheepshead. The dinner series embrace.
twelve illustrations, besides the platter
The latter has the wild turkey for its sub
jeet. The others are:-The may-fowei
(trailing abutus), bear in bee tree, NAL,
deer, buffalo, coon in a persimmon tree
chickens in a garden, peccaries, Rock
Mountain sheep, antelope floating for deer
cranes walk round, and on the plains a
night. An Independent butter plate is
part Of the service. The game course
supplied with novel platter, with "0l
Chesapeake Bay as its subject. Twelv,
other subjects are also in the course;
The Canvas back duck, rail, ptarmigan I
bath, ruifed grouse, Bob White, California
quail, wild pigeon, teal duck, yellow.leggeG
snipe, rice or reed bird, the woodcoek and
pinnatcd grouse For the dessert or frui
plate there is special design. The diff
ferent pieces bear twelve subjeets--ehin
capin nut, pecan nut, pawpaw, locust
moeking bird, maple sugar, Concord grape
huckleberry, persimmon, Ohio golden rod
Baltimore oriolc, Virginia creeper and
studio. The after dinner coffee cup aud
the tea cup complete the set. The form
Of the coffee cup is derived from joint
of the bamboo stalk; a sprout springing
from the eye Of the joint serves for the
handle. The decoration is simple, but
very rich. The cup aud saucer are Of
bamboo color. The tea cup is shaped like
an inverted mandarins hat; the handle is
formed by the stem of a tea plant, the
leaves Of which are used as q decoration
for the exterior Of the cup. The interior
Of the cup is delicate green, The sau-
Ger is enriched with dead gold.
The oyster plate is something decidedly
new. The colors are laid upon the China
clay under the glaze. Fine blue point
oyster shells cover the principal service Of
the plate; beyond these is cluster of rae.
coon oysters. Sprays Of seaweed cluster
about these and serve for decoration. In
the background is glimpse Of the ocean.
The soup plate is modelled from the kal.
mia flower, aud is In shape more ten.
sided angular bowl than q plate. The
outside surface is delicate pink Each
plate has separate design for the interior,
The platter which accompanies the irst
series is novel in form, being rectangular,
with the corners rolled aud enriched with
gold. A magnificent shad is struggling to
free himself from the webs Of a net. The
cords of the net are gold, The form Of
the service plate for fish is derived from
the seallop shell, two Of which are com
bined to form the plate, the large shell
being designed for the dish aud the small
ler receiving the decoration. The wild
turkey is the design for the platter for the
dinner series. Upon the surface of the
dish is painted a magnificent wild turkey,
strutting through light snow, upon which
are delicate reflections from his rich plum
age. A sunset sky, against which are de-
fined the forms Of distant trees, composcs
the background The form Of the dinner
plates Is coupe, surrounded by narrow
rim. The shape is unusual. The twelve
Illustrations are vigorous in subject, draw
ing and color. The independent butter
plate Is close copy Of the leaf Of the
water lily. The surface Of the leaf is a
tender green color. Drops Of water are