This photograph of the Monroe Plateau with a flower arrangement was taken by Erik Kvalsvik in 1996. This gilded bronze and mirrored plateau or centerpiece was made by the Parisian firm Denière et Matelin circa 1817, during James Monroe's presidency. The decoration is arranged in Victorian manner with osiama, rodeo and cream essence roses, delphinium, lavender statice, maidenhair fern, and swags of similax.