Dish, King of Prussia

Date1756-1763

MediumWhite salt-glazed stoneware

DimensionsOverall: 1 3/8 x 15 1/16 x 15 1/8in. (3.5 x 38.3 x 38.4cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2005-32

DescriptionLarge circular flat dish molded around the rim with three scroll-edged panels of a Prussian eagle, a bust-length portrait of Frederick the Great; and military trophies against a star-trelliswork ground alternating with three scroll-edged panels inscribed SUSSESS TO THE / KING OF PRUSSIA / AND HIS FORCESLabel TextPlates and dishes bearing political sentiments are among other oddities available in America. An advertisement for “Prussian” plates and dishes appeared in the Boston Gazette in 1758. Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, had invaded Saxony in 1756, thereby instigating the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763). As the principal ally of Prussia, Britain supported the war both on the Continent and in her North American colonies, where British troops and colonial militia were able to wrest territory from France, Britain and Prussia’s mutual enemy. In America, Frederick the Great is commemorated by place-names such as King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Stoneware, such as this large dish, embellished with the motto “Success to the King of Prussia and His Forces” may be considered an eighteenth-century version of a political bumper sticker in support of the war.Inscription(s)SUSSESS TO THE / KING OF PRUSSIA / AND HIS FORCESProvenancePurchased at Sotheby's NY Importan Americana Sale, lot 197, on Jan. 21, 2005 by Jonathan Horne on behalf of Colonial Williamsburg; ex collection Bernard and Judith Newman.