Franklin China

French Porcelain-(Old Paris) Year: ca. 1840
2014.05.EL The Mr. & Mrs. Franck H. Kaiser, Sr.

With the coming of independence and the release of British trade restrictions; America no longer looked solely to England for the importation of luxury goods. Former ally France, long the European capital of elegance and sophistication became a new market to be explored. Reconstruction of the White House following the War of 1812 brought elaborate French furniture, china, and silver to fill the public rooms. Upper class Americans nationwide followed suit, Isaac Franklin among them. As one of the richest men in Tennessee he lacked for nothing in the way of material goods, as is displayed by his selection of this French china. The combination of a bold blue band accented by gilded lines coupled with floral sprays is a representative design of the late classical era.