Platter, Samson, American Eagle, 19th Century
Form: Oval Platter
Components: Hard paste
Decoration: Hand painted platter. In the center is a spread winged eagle with a rising sun. It has an American shield across its chest, arrows and an olive branch clenched in its claws. The remainder of the platter is decorated with flowers, foliates and scroll.
Colors: Blue, orange, red, gold, purple & green
Markings: None Date: Circa 1875
Provenance: The estate of Arthur J. Connolly
Size: 2" H x 16" L x 14" D
Weight: 5lbs
Condition: Very good.
History: Samson began his career by making service and set piece replacements in the late 1830s. In 1845 he opened the ceramics firm Samson, Edme et Cie at 7, Rue Vendome (later Rue Beranger) in Paris, with the intention of supplying reproductions of ceramics on display in museums and private collections. The factory was moved to Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis in 1864 by Samson’s son, Emile Samson (1837–1913). The firm either drew inspiration from other factories, or directly copied their pieces. Designs from the factories of Meissen, Sevres, Chelsea, and Derby were among the reproductions Samson, Edme et Cie produced, along with designs copied from and all the major factories of England, France and Germany. During the 19th century, the market for fine china was considerable and Samson’s firm reproduced ceramics in a breadth of styles including the faience and maiolica types of Italian pottery, Persian style dishes, Hispano-Moresque pottery (a blending of Islamic and European motifs, produced during the 13th to 15th centuries), plates in the FitzHugh pattern, as well as plates designed by his fellow Frenchmen, Bernard Palissy. Another frequent style copied by the Samson firm was the famille rose and famille verte styles produced in China between 1720 and 1790. Imari wares, named for the Japanese port where a type of richly decorated porcelain made at Arita was shipped, were also copied by Samson.