Benjamin Franklin 1770 - 1800

Editor: This striking ceramic plate from around 1770-1800 features an image of Benjamin Franklin, and it's currently housed here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. What strikes me is the combination of such a prominent historical figure on something so... domestic? What do you make of this curious combination? Curator: Ah, yes! It's rather like stumbling upon a philosophical debate at a tea party, isn’t it? Franklin, the embodiment of enlightenment, gracing… a plate! Perhaps it speaks to the Neoclassical era’s attempt to bring intellectualism into daily life. Think of it: ideas being served up alongside crumpets. Does it make you wonder what kind of conversations were sparked at the dinner table when plates like this one were used? Editor: That's a very cool image—crumpets and philosophy! I suppose it makes a stuffy historical figure more relatable? Curator: Precisely! It's a reminder that even the most revered figures are ultimately human. They ate, they drank, perhaps they even broke a plate or two in their time. Consider the very deliberate nature of a portrait. And yet, juxtapose this image with the mundane activity of simply sharing a meal. I suspect the artist had a wry sense of humor. Don't you? Editor: I hadn't thought of that, but now it seems obvious! I wonder if they made a George Washington plate, too? Thanks, I’ll never look at tableware the same way. Curator: Nor shall I! That’s the magic of art, isn’t it? To change the way we perceive the world, one plate at a time. Now, about those crumpets...