George Washington's Coffee Cup, 1784 – Porcelain Art Mug

America 250 · Jubilee Edition

250 Years. One Cup.

On 4 July 2026 the United States turned 250. In the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a small porcelain coffee cup sits quietly — one of 302 pieces that George Washington ordered from China in 1786, used throughout his presidency, and kept at Mount Vernon until his death.

Washington drank coffee. His household accounts document it. He served guests — diplomats, officers, members of the new government — using this service, in New York, in Philadelphia, at Mount Vernon. The service included several coffee cups. He used them. Which one he held on any given morning, history does not record. But the cup now in the Met is one of those cups. The same service. The same glaze. The same painted figure of Fame with her trumpet, the same Cincinnati eagle beneath her.

This re-edition reproduces the cup faithfully — same form, same decoration, same weight in the hand. Made to be used, not displayed.

Read the full story: He Drank From This Cup

Fine Porcelain — 10 oz. Dishwasher and microwave safe.

Coffee Cup, Chinese, ca. 1784. Porcelain, H. 2½ in. (6.4 cm). Gift of R. Thornton Wilson, 1939. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, acc. no. 39.18.3. Public domain.

Selected by Dr. Walther Fuchs for the Tazzarte collection.