Plate

The center of this plate depicts a fanciful figure of Fame with the emblem of the Society of the Cincinnati, a group founded in the wake of the American Revolution to preserve rights and liberties. Originally enhanced with gilt decoration, the blue-and-white underglaze border, known as the Fitzhugh pattern, incorporates flowers, butterflies, and Chinese decorative motifs. George Washington, the society’s first president, and Colonel Henry Lee, a Revolutionary War cavalry officer, both owned extensive dinner services in this pattern.