Theodore Russell Davis and Haviland & Co.
“The Shad” Fish Platter
1878-1879
Scroll
Physical Qualities
Porcelain, enamel, gilt, 10 × 24 1/8 × 2 7/8 in. (25.4 × 61.3 × 7.3 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Jonathan W. Kolker, Baltimore, in Memory of Irving and Rosa Kolker
Object Number
2022.162
"The Shad" fish platter is a design from the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Porcelain Service. Porcelain with enamels and gilt decoration. The colors were applied using chromolithographic and decalcomania processes. Afterwards, decorators painted the plate with enamel colors to add shading and to enhance the design. Finally, the egdes were gilt. The platter is rectangular, with the corners rolled. The design features a magnificent shad struggling to free itself from the meshes of a net in which it has become entangled. The cords of the net are in gold, and cover the entire surface of the dish.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 2022; Jonathan W. Kolker, Baltimore, MD by descent, 1980s; Irving Mason (1895-1957) and Rosa Jacobson Kolker (1907-1998), Baltimore, MD by purchase
Inscribed: Recto: artist's initials "TD [overlapped]" in gold
Markings: On underside: - [American eagle with spread wings and Seal of United States in polychrome enamels]; - "Theo: R. Davis." (Facsimile signature in black); - "FABRIQUÉ PAR / HAVILAND & Co./ d’aprés les dessins / DE" (stamped in orange-red); - "DESIGN PATENTED / AUGUST 10th 1880 / No: 11935 (stamped in black); - "H & Co." (stamped factory mark in green)
Designer
Theodore Russell Davis
1839–1893
Boston, MA 1840-1894 Asbury Park, NJ
Meet Theodore Russell Davis
