Walter Scott Lenox & American Belleek

The exhibition presents the elegance of America’s Gilded Age and the artistic influence of Walter Scott Lenox through 80 objects on loan from notable public and private U.S. collections and the Mint’s own holdings.

Objects include a coffeepot with satiny ivory glaze and raised gold-paste decoration, a tête-à-tête set whose individual components are so thin you can see through them, beautifully modeled ewers and hand-painted vases, as well as a superb mirror frame encrusted with fully three-dimensional, handcrafted flowers.

The eggshell-thin, yet extremely durable porcelain was first manufactured in the village of Belleek in Northern Ireland but achieved new aesthetic heights in the United States during the late 19th century thanks to the vision and talent of Walter Scott Lenox.

In a time of conspicuous consumption and ostentatious living for affluent, fashion-conscious consumers, Walter Scott Lenox created a business focused solely on making ceramics of high artistic merit in a refined Belleek-type porcelain. High-end retailers throughout the country also ordered pieces from his factory.

Curated by Brian Gallagher, the Mint’s senior curator of decorative arts, The Mint Museum is the exhibition’s only venue.