Plate

In the early 1800s, a visitor to the Providence Parlor (now in gallery 335) might have eaten dinner off this plate. It was handed down by descendants of the owners of the house, John and William Russell, who were prominent Rhode Island importers and exporters. Made by Chinese artists for European and American customers, it was the type of expensive imported item that such wealthy merchants would put before their guests. The parlor was installed in Mia in 1923, and the plate followed seventy-five years later.