In the 17th and 18th centuries, wealthy Americans enjoyed products from the China trade. With the opening of direct trade with China in 1784, there was an abundant inflow of Chinese goods. The plate presented here comes from a dinner service once owned by DeWitt and Maria Franklin Clinton that was likely ordered to commemorate their marriage in 1796. This service has an unusual design in polychrome overglaze enamels, featuring the Daoist Immortals around the rim with a lakeside scene at the center.

DeWitt Clinton was an American politician, who began his career as an attorney. He went on to hold numerous public offices, serving as mayor of New York City and as three-term governor of New York. He is best known for promulgating the idea of the Erie Canal, which opened in 1825. With the opening, he assured the 19th-century development of New York City as the major port of trade with the Midwest.

Related works: Winterthur Museum; Peabody Essex Museum; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Reeves Collection, Washington and Lee University; Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the U. S. Department of State; and New-York Historical Society.