“The First Ladies and Their China” will be the topic of Ellen Paul Denker's lecture during this year's annual meeting of the Potteries of Trenton Society. The lecture, which will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 6, is free of charge and open to the public. The group’s business meeting will follow at 3 p.m. The site of this year's meeting is the Woodrow Wilson Board Room at the Trenton War Memorial at 1 Memorial Drive, Trenton, N.J.
Hospitality is the keynote of international diplomacy, and a state dinner in the White House is the highest symbol of American hospitality, displaying grand tables set with beautiful flowers and the finest china, silver and crystal. First Ladies are called upon to muster American hospitality by making sure that the appointments for a White House state dinner are impeccable. Since the beginning of the United States, Congress has appropriated funds to furnish the White House and demonstrate the nation's wealth and power to foreign heads of state. But White House china has often been supplied by foreign potteries. Denker's lecture, sprinkled with anecdotes, will examine the topic of White House china from Martha Washington to Melania Trump; explain the history, use and preservation of the table china they chose; and demonstrate Trenton's role in this fascinating story.
Denker is a museum consultant and independent scholar based in western North Carolina. She holds degrees from Grinnell College, Iowa, and from the University of Delaware, where she was a Fellow in the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture. As a museum consultant, Denker has worked on a variety of exhibition topics from ceramic and furniture history to visiting nursing and blindness. She has written extensively on American ceramics, the Arts and Crafts movement, and American home furnishings. Denker’s list of publications as author and co-author is extensive, with topics ranging from Lenox China to rocking chairs. She has lectured extensively for art and historical organizations across the United States, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Newark Museum, Museums of Fine Arts in Boston and Houston, Saint Louis Art Museum, and Art Institute of Chicago. Denker is also a founding member of the Potteries of Trenton Society.
The organization is a nonprofit group dedicated to promoting the study and appreciation of Trenton’s ceramic industry by gathering and preserving information related to the industry; sponsoring research projects, seminars and conferences; and promoting industry-related heritage tourism activities. Membership is open to all and information about joining will be available at this event.
Seating is limited, and preregistration is suggested. To register, readers may email president@potteriesoftrentonsociety.org with their name and the number of people in their party.
Free parking is available in the state parking lots on Memorial Drive near the War Memorial. Handicapped-accessible parking is located beside the War Memorial on West Lafayette Street and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. The War Memorial is fully ADA compliant.
For further information about this event, the Potteries of Trenton Society and the Trenton War Memorial, visit www.potteriesoftrentonsociety.org or https://nj.gov/state/memorial/index.shtml.