These porcelain serving pieces, including a tea cup and saucer, a soup plate, and a fruit plate, were made for the White House by Haviland & Co. of New York and Limoges, France, in 1879. President Rutherford B. Hayes purchased the pieces as part of a state dinner service that featured elaborate designs conceived by American artist Theodore Russell Davis. First Lady Lucy Hayes had planned to select a floral pattern for the White House service when she had a chance meeting with Davis. Davis suggested that instead she opt for depictions of flora and fauna native to North America, and Mrs. Hayes agreed. She commissioned Davis as the designer, and he produced 130 distinct decorations for the 562 piece service. The soup plate features a palmetto cabbage, while the fruit plate portrays the New Jersey beach house where Russell designed the service.
These porcelain serving pieces, including a tea cup and saucer, a soup plate, and a fruit plate, were made for the White House by Haviland & Co. of New York and Limoges, France, in 1879. President Rutherford B. Hayes purchased the pieces as part of a state dinner service that featured elaborate designs conceived by American artist Theodore Russell Davis. First Lady Lucy Hayes had planned to select a floral pattern for the White House service when she had a chance meeting with Davis. Davis suggested that instead she opt for depictions of flora and fauna native to North America, and Mrs. Hayes agreed. She commissioned Davis as the designer, and he produced 130 distinct decorations for the 562 piece service. The soup plate features a palmetto cabbage, while the fruit plate portrays the New Jersey beach house where Russell designed the service.