Theodore Russell Davis and Haviland & Co.
“The Frog” Soup Plate
1878-1885
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Physical Qualities
Porcelain, enamel, gilt, 9 × 9 × 1 3/4 in. (22.9 × 22.9 × 4.4 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Frederica Kolker Saxon, Baltimore, in Memory of Irving and Rosa Kolker
Object Number
2022.182
"The Frog" soup plate 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 edges were gilt. The shape of the soup plate was modeled after the mountain laurel, with slight points indicated the tips of the flower petals. The design features a pond scene with a North American frog on a lily pad, croaking his 'song of spring' in the midst of an April shower.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 2022; Frederica K. Saxon (1933-2025), 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 enamel
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: 11933 (stamped in blue); - "H & Co." (stamped factory mark in green)
Designer
Theodore Russell Davis
1839–1893
Boston, MA 1840-1894 Asbury Park, NJ
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