This service, consisting of a coffee pot and
cover, teapot and cover, tea caddy, spoon tray, saucer dish, coffee cup and
two saucers, is elaborately painted with a coat of arms and crest flanked by
iron-red foliage, Dutch sailing ships, Masonic working tools (the square and
compass is visible at the lower right corner) and scattered floral sprigs.
This service is an important addition to The Masonic Library and Museum of
Pennsylvania's growing collection of Masonic Chinese export porcelain.
This collection,
consisting of punch bowls, toddy jugs, and mugs, provides a glimpse of
China's relationship with the West during the late 18th-early 19th
centuries. If a patron was wealthy, he could have his porcelain designed to
suit his individual taste. Such designs often featured personal coats of
arms and the surname of the patron, as well as the symbols of a particular
group with whom the patron was affiliated. This partial tea service is a
wonderful example of this type of export porcelain.
