The Washington herald., 1913-06-22
GOVERNMENT RECEIVES UNIQUE CHINA COLLECTION

lit is practically impossible to ind
complete dinner set Of this Stanordshire
ware. Breakage, scattering OF families,
disregard for their value. have all had
their effect, with the result that OF al
the thousands of pieces shipped to this
country collectors will go miles to secure
a single good specimen and pay as much
for 1t as for a good sized diamond ring.
Chinnwnrc Portrays History.
The scenes shown upon the pieces
forming the collection in the Smith
sonian Institution range from those OF
the colonial wars, the Revolution, the
, war of 1912. and the civil war to vari-
Gus old-time points of interest. Two
pieces represent the treaty made py
William Penn with the Indians. These
are of unusual interest, because they
not only commemorate that event, but
also give the conception formed by
English potters of the eighteenth CEN
fury of that event. One of the pieces
is a fruit dish, decorated inside with
view of PENIS treaty. showing two
Indians standing opposite Penn. a man
kneeling near him exhibiting a piece
OF cloth, and in the background an
Oriental scene. Outside are two views
OF the same transaction. slightly
changed in the grouping, but with ORR
entail buildings. The other piece is
soup plate. On this Is represented
scene in which two Quakers are stand
ing with an open box at their feet,
squaw in full evening dress kneelins
before them, lifting strings of beads,
and behind her an Indian chief stand
ing. Here again Oriental buildings
and tropical trees are used.
A clear idea of the great scope COW
cred by this historical China can be
gained by naming the scenes on sew
eral pieces. There are numerous plat
tiers. for example. ranging from IL by
IL inches TO II by II. They are bor-
dered in what is known as the shell or
medallion border, as rule. In sub
jects they include the Deaf and Dumb
Asylum at Hartford. Conn; pictures
OF Lake George, n. Y; Mendenhall
Ferry. Pa; Niagara Falls from the
American side, Boston Hospital. Belle
vile. on the Passaic River: the ex-
change at Charleston. s. C., which, In
cidentally, is one of the few Southern
scenes Such views as those showing
the Deaf and Dumb Asylum and Bos-
ton Hospital are portions OF COM
plete set called the Beauties OF Amer
lea" set. The Fairmont platter Is one
of the sets known as the "FaiTmont
Water Series" These water works
were opened by Lafayette in 1924.
frnyer lot inc saiior.
Another example OF the popularity OF
some of these pieces is bowl, OF Liver
pool ware, in the center Of which Is
full rugged American ship. On the out
side are the words:
From rocks and sands and er.-y III,
May God preserve the sailor sIl"
The strangeness of this piece is in con-
nection with a picture which is also on
the bowl. This picture shows three men
In a boat with two golden pheasants. Still
another OLD bowl. now very rare. is of a
pale grayish blue. II is absolutely un
adorned, but for the words, Success 10
the British navy" The mate to this,
bearing the inscription. Success to the
British army" is in the British Museum
Among the pieces other than blue in
color, is one of special interest. This was
made in commemoration of the great fire
in New York City on december 10. 1885.
The plate is done in heavy black and
shows in the center the Merchants EX-
change Building, surrounded by firemen.
watchmen. and spectators. Around the
edges are eight medallions decorated, |
four with a phoenix in the foreground
and the burning city in the background. |
and four with old hand engines. trumpet. |
and firecap Between the medallions
runs the lettering OF the legend.
An interesting piece is a Mormon com |
munion plate of porcelain. made in the