Chinese export porcelain from the service of Gabriel Henry Manigault
Date1820 - 1830
Object number00037895
NameSaucer
MediumPorcelain, paint
Dimensions160 mm
ClassificationsTableware and furnishings
Credit LineANMM Collection
Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionThis Chinese export porcelain saucer is from the service of Gabriel Henry Manigault (1788 - 1834). It is decorated in a brown Fitzhugh pattern. At the centre is the Manigault family crest which was first designed by the convict Samuel Clayton. The plate features a motto of the family 'Prospicere Quam Ulcisci' ('It is better to anticipate than avenge').HistoryThe Manigault family originally came as Huguenot refugees to South Carolina in 1695. It was Charles Izard Manigault, a fourth-generation descendant of the original immigrants, who devised the family arms, crest and motto. The demi-savage was a reference to his travels in China and the Far East. The arms on the porcelain are copied from a bookplate engraved by Australian convict artist, Samuel Clayton.
Charles Manigault was a merchant who travelled throughout Asia, South America and Australia after 1817. It is thought that he ordered this service on behalf of his brother Gabriel Henry Manigault.
Samuel Clayton was a convict who was transported to Sydney from Ireland in 1816. He was trained as an engraver and miniature painter prior to his transportation. Upon a visit by Charles Manigault to Australia, Manigault commissioned Clayton to engrave his Coat of Arms which he later had copied onto his porcelain dinner service in China.
The 'Fitzhugh' pattern is thought to have been named after the director of the East India Company in 1786, Thomas FitzHugh. The pattern is distinguished by a four clusters of flowers in the centre and a trellis border of dumbells and spearheads.
SignificanceThis saucer is a rare Chinese export porcelain from the service of Gabriel Henry Manigault, brother of Charles Izard Manigault.
