Covered tureen, early 19th century. Chinese for the American market. Hard paste. H. with cover 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm). Helena Woolworth McCann Collection, Gift of Winfield Foundation, 1951 (51.86.334a,b). The Metropolitan Museum of Art © 2000–2013 The Metropolitan Museum of Art

This is one of the more striking porcelains to emerge from the American trade with China. The four quadrants of the so-called Fitzhugh pattern of leaves and flowers, rendered in brilliant green enamels, serve to contrast with and accentuate the large spread eagle clutching an olive branch and a bundle of arrows in its talons. Such porcelains often feature the shield of the United States in the center of the eagle's body, yet here the shield encloses a monogram or initials—in this case an M—that would have been painted on site in Canton per instructions given by the purchaser.