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Accession #	45.174
Maker	Gousse Bonnin
Maker	George Anthony Morris
Maker	American China Manufactory
Title	Sweetmeat Dish
Date	1770-1772
Medium	Soft-paste porcelain, underglaze
Dimensions	5 1/4 x 7 1/4 x 7 1/4 in. (13.3 x 18.4 x 18.4 cm)
Marks	Marked on base: "P" in under glaze blue
Credit Line	Museum Collection Fund
Location	American Identities: Colony to Nation / Inventing American Landscape
Description	Sweetmeat dish, white earthenware, composed of three half shells attached to a central rusticated stem surmounted by a circular shell of smaller size; three short peg feet support the base. Many small shells and bits of coral are encrusted on a central stem; a hand painted design of flowers, wheat and insects in underglaze zaffer blue compose the decoration, the shells are accented in the same blue. Condition: slightly nicked.

Curatorial Remarks: American China Manufactory objects are the oldest American-made porcelain, and extremely rare. Because England viewed the colonies as a market for its exports, it discouraged manufacturing. In the 1760s, however, when Americans were boycotting English luxury goods, Gouse Bonnin and George Anthony Morris, founders of the American China Manufactory, were among the first colonists to establish a porcelain factory. Although they succeeded in producing close imitations of English wares, Bonnin and Morris closed their factory after only two years, owing to the resumption of trade with England in 1770 and the difficulties inherent in the startup of a new enterprise.