Tobacco Leaf Sandwich Tray

Traditionally used for finger sandwiches, this versatile tray can also be used for petit-fours or as a trinket tray for you or a special friend!

The tobacco leaf design was originally made in China, probably for export to the Portuguese and Brazilian markets. Of all the 18th century dinnerware patterns, this was the most highly prized. George and Martha Washington owned pieces of this pattern and there are examples of tobacco leaf china in the Mount Vernon collection. By the late 1790s, wheat had replaced tobacco as Mount Vernon’s main cash crop.

This extravagant pattern displays a small phoenix perched on the leaves of the flowering Nocotiana (Tobacco) plant along with twenty-seven colors and 22kt gold. Original pieces of this pattern are now displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Tray dimensions are 15.5” L x 6” W x ½” H.