This is a truly rare find indeed for those who are interested in both Chinese export porcelain and early American history as these teawares are from a service ordered by Thomas Mifflin (1744-1800) of Philadelphia. He was an aide-de-camp to George Washington, later promoted to General in the Continental Army (which got him kicked out of the Quaker church), he was also a signer of the U. S. Constitution, and the first Governor of Pennsylvania. He and his wife are elegantly depicted in a double portrait by John Singleton Copley which now hangs in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. And like most Founding Fathers he ordered an elegant Chinese export teaset; this one with the refined and restrained aesthetic so typical of the Federal period of our new republic with an overglaze blue and dotted border centered with a cartouche inscribed with an “M” surmounted by a dove with an olive branch. (Once a Quaker, always a Quaker!)  7 1/4″ plates and teabowls and saucers available. Excellent condition. Circa 1785-1790.