George Washington Mount Vernon English Salt Glaze Stoneware Large Plate c 1755

This English salt-glazed stoneware large plate is the exact model illustrated on page 17 of George Washington’s Chinaware by Susan Gray Detweiler, a reference that describes this form and pattern recorded on fragments excavated at Washington’s home, Mount Vernon. The fragments excavated at Mount Vernon link this model and design to the tableware used in George Washington’s household. The historical context is sharpened by Washington’s own words. In a letter written when he was twenty-six, he instructed his supplier, “Pray let them be neat and fashionable or send none,” a remark that captures the standards of taste that shaped the acquisition of such tableware in colonial Virginia. The plate is press-molded in the well-known basket and star-diaper pattern, a lively Rococo composition of lattice panels, diapered reserves, and scrolling ornament arranged around a circular well. The modeling is crisp and precise, creating a surface that responds beautifully to light as it moves across the raised pattern and curving borders. This interplay between structured geometry and flowing Rococo movement gives the plate both clarity and visual energy. English salt-glaze reached a high point during the middle decades of the eighteenth century, when potters perfected press-molding techniques that allowed for sharply defined decorative surfaces. Plates such as this one combine durability with refined ornament, making them suitable for both daily use and fashionable display. The archaeological evidence from Mount Vernon confirms that this pattern was part of the table setting associated with Washington’s household. Dimensions: 12.25 inches diameter x 1.25 inches height Condition: Excellent Decoration: Press-molded basket and star-diaper pattern with Rococo scrollwork Material: English salt-glazed stoneware Style: Rococo Origin: England Date: circa 1755 Notable Details: Illustrated example from George Washington’s Chinaware by Susan Gray Detweiler Identical basket and star-diaper pattern recorded on archaeological fragments from Mount Vernon Classic mid-18th-century English salt-glaze large plate form Crisp press-molding with strong surface definition Direct association with the tableware used in George Washington’s household