What is New?

The Joe and Marge Grills Gallery in the Montpelier Visitor Center features both objects on loan and objects from the Montpelier Collection. Below are highlights of the most recent objects added to the "Treasures of Montpelier" exhibit in the Grills Gallery.

Daguerreotype

Dolley was one of the few members of the founding generation who lived long enough to be photographed.  While the daguerreotype on display in the Grills Gallery is not the original daguerreotype of Dolley Madison, which was taken at Mathew Brady's studio in Washington, D.C. in 1848, it is a period copy made from the original plate. In this image she is seen wearing one of her iconic turbans which she popularized as first lady and continued to wear throughout her life. The daguerreotype is on loan to Montpelier from a private individual, and due to the fragility of the image, it will only be on display through the fall of 2010.

Case or Wallet

This intricately-worked object, which has been generously loaned to Montpelier by the Greensboro Historical Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina, would have been used to hold coins, bills, calling cards, and other personal effects. It features an equestrian scene carved in ivory and affixed to the tooled leather surface. It was sold by Dolley Madison's grand niece, Mary Causten Kunkel, at an 1899 sale of some of the former first lady's belongings.

Square serving dish

This piece, acquired in 2009 by The Montpelier Foundation, was a part of the Madisons' 231-piece porcelain dinner service, which was made at the Nast Manufactory in Paris in 1806.  It was purchased for them by Fulwar Skipwith, the American consul general in France. Along with the soup plate on display next to this dish, and the tureen on display in the mansion dining room, 29 other known pieces of this service survive today. Many are in public collections, including the White House, Smithsonian Institution, and Philadelphia Museum of Art.

While the modern notion of "Presidential China" did not exist in the nineteenth century, this service is often considered the Madisons' official state service, despite the fact that James and Dolley purchased it for their own use prior to his election as president. After the White House burned in 1814 and the porcelain purchased by the government's Presidential Furnishing Fund was destroyed, James and Dolley entertained with this set for the remainder of his term.

Nast Soup Plate

A soup plate from the Nast Manufactory in Paris, c 1806 is on loan from the Woodrow Wilson House, a National Trust Historic Site, in Washington, D.C.

In 1806 Fulwar Skipwith, the American Consul General in Paris, purchased at their request, a 231-piece porcelain Nast dinner service for James and Dolley Madison. Following the 1814 fire at the President's House (White House) the Madisons took many of their personal pieces from Montpelier to Washington to be used at their temporary residences at the Octagon and the Seven Buildings. After Madison's retirement, the set returned to Montpelier, only to be taken to Washington again in 1844, when Dolley Madison moved there after selling Montpelier.

In 2007, Montpelier archaeologists recovered sherds of a Nast plate, dating to Madison's retirement period, during their excavation of a trash deposit.

Silver Vinaigrette

A silver vinaigrette, made by William Boot in Birmingham, England in 1806, is also new to the gallery. A vinaigrette is a small container, usually made of silver or gold that holds strong aromatics to mask unpleasant odors. It typically had a perforated metal top or tray that held a small sponge soaked in vinegar and lavender or other fragrant oils or herbs. Women would carry a vinaigrette in a pocket, reticule (handbag), or attached to a chatelaine (ladies’ key chain). A woman's vinaigrette might also contain smelling salts to use if she felt faint.

Dolley Madison gave this vinaigrette, possibly one of her own, to her niece, Dolley Payne Madison Cutts (1811-1838), and it descended through the Cutts family. It was purchased by the Montpelier Foundation with proceeds from newly established The Curator's Fund.

Porcelain Sauceboat

The third new item from the Greensboro Museum is a sauceboat made in China for the export market, and it has a tradition of being used by the Madison's here at Montpelier.

This style of porcelain is known as Canton and had blue under glaze decorations of traditional scenes such as mountains and temples. Montpelier archeologists have recovered other examples of Chinese export porcelain from Madison era trash deposits (middens).

Plaster Medallions

Seven plaster medallions believed to have been part of a large collection that once belonged to the Madisons are also now on view, courtesy of the Greensboro Museum. These medallions depict a variety of subjects, including classical scenes, mythical figures such as Poseidon, and the 18th-century French philosopher Voltaire. Each plaster medallion had a wire hanger, allowing them to be hung for display.

Historical Documents

The Grills Gallery also features rotating historical documents relating to James Madison's personal and public life.