Description: Adams John



John Adams: Chinese Export Teacup Purportedly from His Personal Service, with Outstanding Provenance


Chinese Export teacup purportedly owned and used by 2nd U.S. President John Adams (1735-1826) and members of his family. Hard-paste porcelain with overglaze enamel decoration, the white ground hand-painted with red-orange and gilt floral sprigs and sprays. The handleless teacup measures 2.25" high, with a 3.5" diameter. A 1" long hairline extends from the rim near one of the floral sprays, else in very good to near fine condition. Accompanied by a photocopy of the old paper label located under the teacup's companion saucer (not included in this lot), reading: This cup and saucer belonged to John Adams Given to Helen H. Slade Dec. 25th 1897 by Marc [illegible]." Acquired recently at auction, and previously from an estate sale in Plymouth, Massachusetts.


John Adams, along with fellow Founding Fathers George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, owned and loved Chinese Export porcelain. These inexpensive, durable, and aesthetically pleasing ceramics were manufactured in China and sold abroad to European and American consumers. Designs could be exotic, featuring Chinese motifs like dragons, phoenix, flora, and fauna, or imbued with more Western appeal: heraldic and armorial devices, patriotic vignettes, and simple, almost sparse, decoration. From Washington's preferred blue and white willowware to this example of John Adams's red-decorated white ground porcelain, Chinese Export came in a variety of palettes"Famille Rose, Verte, Jaune, Noire, and grisaille, to name a few. Floral patterns like this one were equally popular in England and America.


Chinese Export could appear in the form of teapots, teacups and saucers, pitchers, bowls, plates, platters, sauce boats, soup tureens, punch bowls, vases, ewers, and a variety of covered drinking vessels. Prior to the American Revolution, Chinese Export porcelain could only be obtained through European agents like the British East India Company. There was no direct American trade with China until 1784, thus china, along with other imported British products, took on political dimensions prior to the American Revolution.


John Adams, a known tea and coffee drinker, could have drunk either stimulant from this delicate teacup. Other examples of Adams Family tea service accoutrements can be found in the collection of the Winterthur Museum (Winterthur, Delaware) and at the Adams National Historic Site (Quincy, Massachusetts).


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