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Covered tureen, early 19th century
Chinese for the American market
Hard paste; H. with cover 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm)
Helena Woolworth McCann Collection, Gift of Winfield Foundation, 1951 (51.86.334a,b)

This is one of the more striking porcelains to emerge from the American trade with China. The four quadrants of the so-called Fitzhugh pattern of leaves and flowers, rendered in brilliant green enamels, serve to contrast with and accentuate the large spread eagle clutching an olive branch and a bundle of arrows in its talons. Such porcelains often feature the shield of the United States in the center of the eagle's body, yet here the shield encloses a monogram or initials—in this case an M—that would have been painted on site in Canton per instructions given by the purchaser.


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    Covered tureen, early 19th century
    Chinese for the American market
    Hard paste; H. with cover 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm)
    Helena Woolworth McCann Collection, Gift of Winfield Foundation, 1951 (51.86.334a,b)