Tobacco Leaf Dinnerware

This extravagant design by Mottahedeh was originally made in China, probably for export to the Portuguese and Brazilian markets.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. A small phoenix bird perches on the leaves of the flowering Nicotiana (Tobacco) plant. Twenty-seven colors and 22k gold make up this pattern based on an original in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.