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Thumbnail-size images of copyrighted artworks are displayed under fair use, in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts, published by the College Art Association in February 2015.

Commemorating Blues, Jazz, Collard Greens & Thelonious Monk

Carrie Mae Weems (American, born in 1953)
1992

Medium/Technique Commemorative plate, Lenox porcelain, glazed and gold painted
Dimensions Ceramics: 27.3 cm (10 3/4 in.)
Credit Line Gift from the collection of David Bonetti
Accession Number2018.2298
ClassificationsCeramicsPorcelain
Popularized in the 19th century alongside expanding industrial ceramics manufacturing, commemorative plates emerged as souvenirs celebrating travel or important events connected to well-known figures. This plate is by Carrie Mae Weems, an artist known for work in photography. Weems collaborated with American manufacturer Lenox—known for producing tableware for the White House, U.S. embassies, and governors’ mansions—to acknowledge moments in Black history. Here she celebrates Blues and Jazz, which originated in Black culture; revered Black jazz musician Thelonious Monk; and collard greens, a comforting soul-food staple that also intersects with the history of slavery. For Weems, her plates highlight how adoration is complex and contingent.

DescriptionFrom the series of twenty plates Commemorating
Manufactured by Lenox, Inc.
ProvenanceDavid Bonetti, Milford, MA; by inheritance to his brother, Gary Bonetti, Milford, MA; 2018, gift of Gary Bonetti to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 26, 2018)