Exquisite pairing of a signed 1805 dinner invitation from Thomas Jefferson and an extremely rare exported fine china armorial ‘J’ serving bowl deriving from the personal collection of Thomas Jefferson Coolidge, the great-grandson of Thomas Jefferson. The invitation, one page, 7.75 x 5, December 6, 1805, is signed by Jefferson, “Th: Jefferson,” but filled out in his secretary's hand, and reads: “Th: Jefferson requests the favour of Dr. Mitchell to dine with him on Monday the 9th instant. Dinner will be on the table precisely at sun set. Dec 6: 1805. The favour of an answer is asked.” The reverse is endorsed by another hand, confirming Mitchell’s same-day agreement and noting the additional company of “Mellimelli the Envoy from Tunis & his two secretaries & Mess’rs Smith, Logan and Adams of the Senate, with Mess’rs Eppes, T. J. Randolph & Nicholson, of the H. of R." Also present to the reverse a stamp identifying the piece as from the autograph collection of the renowned surgeon and collector Dr. Max Thorek of Chicago.
The oval scallop-edged porcelain serving bowl, 12″ x 9.25″ x 1.75″, features hand-painted double-banded cobalt borders, and the center bears an exceptional design featuring Jefferson's neoclassical shield studded with 13 gold stars enclosing the script initial "J," surmounted by a plumed knight's helmet. A very unusual piece of china and the only example we have seen in this style. In overall fine condition.
The serving bowl derives from the Brick House at Coolidge Point, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, the family resident of Jefferson’s great-grandson, Thomas Jefferson Coolidge (1831-1920). The property was also famously home to the Marble Palace, designed by Charles F. McKim of McKim, Mead & White, known for its massive Ionic columns that referenced Jefferson’s Monticello. The Marble Palace was demolished in 1958, and many of the furnishings were moved to the Brick House and are now presented in the auction. Among the contents of the Brick House were found various items that belonged to our third president, and this magnificent piece of armorial porcelain is one of them. The storied circa 1790 Chinese export “J” dinner service has long been associated with Thomas Jefferson. It is included in Margaret Brown Klapthor’s Official White House China (1984) and has been on display as Jefferson’s service at Monticello, the White House, and other U.S. State Department facilities.
The mention of “Mellimelli” on the reverse of the invitation is quite significant. Sidi Soliman Mellimelli was a Muslim ambassador from Tunisia, who traveled to the United States in 1805 as part of an effort to negotiate an end to the ongoing conflict between the two nations, which had erupted into what is now known as the First Barbary War. He arrived in the United States in April of 1805 and was received with much curiosity and fanfare by the American public, who were fascinated by his exotic dress and customs. He met with President Thomas Jefferson in Washington during Ramadan, a month-long period in which Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. To accommodate his guest's religious obligation, Jefferson's invitation to the President's House on December 9th changed the time of dinner from the usual ‘half after three’ to "precisely at sun set." Mellimelli's trip to America is notable for being one of the first instances of diplomatic contact between the United States and a Muslim nation, and for highlighting the complex political and cultural dynamics at play in the early years of the American republic.
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