Bowl, Cereal

Description

Medium-sized footed porcelain bowl. Interior of the bowl is solid white. Along the outer rim of the bowl are two thin black lines with a light-green stripe 9/32" wide in between them creating a border. Below the border there is light-green transfer-printed text, in all caps, which reads "SHAKERS MT. LEBANON N.Y.". The font of the text has a white outline giving the letters a three-dimensional quality. There are three hand-painted floral decorations of brown branches with green leaves and berries. The leaves of each branch are slightly different. The largest branch, underneath the text, has purple berries with leaves that are large where they attach to the branch and taper to a point at the end. One of the other branches has thinner leaves, giving it a fern-like appearance, with red berries. The third floral design has red berries and leaves which are wide and round where they attach to the branch and taper to a point at the end. Along the foot of the bowl is a thin black line echoing the black lines of the upper border.

Notes

On October 12, 1886 Benjamin Gates, Cornelia French, and Mary Hazard of the Church family traveled to New York City to order plates from Union Porcelain Works. On February 20, 1887 a note in Anna Dodgsons journal refers to new plates with "Shaker & c". These are the only dishes marked with a community name.