Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1880-07-03
slal Porcelain for the White House.


AUN1QUB AND BEAUTIFUL DINNER sET.
The new and beautiful porcelain service for
the White House was received there last eve
ming. 1t is from the potteries Of Haviland
Co, Americans, who are located at Limoges,
France. In the spring of 1879 an order was
given to this firm to furnish the Executive
Mansion with dinuer service, which, as Ii
was to be used only for state occasions, MIs.
hayes desired should combine elegance WIN
appropriate American decoration. Mr. Theodore
Haviland called to bis aid Theodore X. Davis,
the artist for Harper's, who undertook the In
ventiOn Of designs for shapes and color to be
reproduced in chinaware. The varied expert
ence OF Mr.. Davis as an artist and as student
OF nature and animal life peculiarly fitted him
for the work. The designs for the service were
every every instance In @ bold and striking they were
difficult to reproduce perfectly upon porcelain
with hard mineral color. To succe ssfully ac-
cOmplish this it was necessary to invent new
mechanical appliances. A high degree OF
finish was attained in every piece. Some OF the
pieces when singly examined lose part OF
their attractiveness but when placed upon the
table the effect Is very pleasant and striking.
The artists who assisted Mr.. Davis were all
foreie e0erS. They were BracquemOnd and To-
Paris; Lambert, sevres; Lissac, Chadal yalette,
Charles Ricroch, BarbaIln, LaforeSt, hayon,
Duclair, Dominique and Mile. Anna. OF Limoges.
The sets are composed as follows special
oyster plate; soup plates designed with twel We
SUBJECTS Mountain laurel, the blue crab, In
dian cook of the XIV. century, palmetto cab
bage, harvest moon, tomato, green tur tie,
1,I6, and okra. The fish series is composed of
twelve SUBJECTS which decorate plates shaped
expressly for this course, and platter which
exhibits a careful study OF the shad. The SUBJ
jects are these; Red snapper, Spanish mackerel,
terrapin specked trout black bass, smelt, striped
bass, fresh-water lobster, pompano, brook pike,
blue fish, and sheeps-head. The dinner series
ter. The latter has the wild turkey for its subject.
The others are: The may flower (traiiiug ar
butus). bear In bee tree, male deer, ouHalo,
coon in persimmon tree, chickens In garden.
floating for deer, cranes walk round, and on
the plains at night An independent butter
plate is part OF the service. The game course
as Tn WITH otper c h
jects are also in the course: The canvas back
duck, rail. ptalmigan's bath, ruffed grouse. bob
white, California quail, wild pigeon, teal duck,
yellow-legged, snipe, rice or reed bird, the
woodcock and pinnated grouse. For the des-
sert or fruit plate there is special design. The
diferent pieces bear twelve subjects:-ChInca-
Pn pecan nut locust mSekng
persimmon Ohio golden rod Baltimore oriole,
virginia creeper and studio The after dinner
hn G9iee cup and the tea cup complete the set
joint OF the bamboo stalk; a sprout springing
from the eye OF the joint serves for the handle.
Inc QecOfatlOn is Slnlple OUT very rlcQ Tno cup
and saucer are OF bamboo color. The tea cup Is
shaped like an inverted mandar1ns hat; the
handle is formed by the stem OF tea plant, the
leaves OF which are used as decoration for the
exterior OF the cup. The interior OF the cup is
delicate green. The saucer 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 raccoon oysters Sprays OF sea-
weed cluster about these and serve for decora-
ton. In the background is a glimpse Of the
ocean. The soup plate Is modelled from the
kalmta flower, and is In shape more ten-Sided
is a delicate pink. Each plate has separate
design for the interior. Theplatter which ac-
companies the first series is novel in FORM be-
ing rectangular, with the corners rolled and en-
riched with gold. A magnificent shad is strug-
a net. The cords OF the net are gold,
The form of the service plate for fish Is erived
from the scallop shell, two OF which are com
bined to form the plate, the large shell being
designed for the dish and the smaller receiving
for the platter for the dinner series. Upon the
surface OF the dish is painted magnificent
wild turkey, strutting through light snow,
upon which are delicate reflections from hts
rich plumage. A sunset sky, against which are
defined the forms of distant trees composes the
back ground. The form of the dinner plates is
coupe, surrounded by narrow rim. The shape
is unusal. The twelve illustrations are vigorous
in subject, drawing and color. The independent
butter plate is close copy of the leaf of the
water lily. The surface of the leaf Is tender
green color. Drops OF water are on the Leaf.
The game plate is In form OF coupe or plaque,
ent subjects are exquisitely wrought The
fruit plate is modelled from the leaf OF the
American wild apple. 1t is very beautiful.
There are over 500 pieces In the set.