James Madison State Dept china 1806 (17137110669)

A dinner plate in the Empire style, purchased by then-Secretary of State James Madison in 1806.
This photograph was taken by a Smithsonian Institution photographer. As the work of an employee of the federal government created in the performance of his/her duties, it is in the public domain.
This plate inspired one of the pieces in the new Obama White House china service, which was introduced on April 27, 2015.
The White House must order new china about once every 10 years, depending on wear and tear. Recent past colors have included celadon green (Truman), white (with flowers; Johnson), red (Reagan), gold (Clinton), and gold (G.W. Bush). Although dark blue has been used on previous orders of White House china (both the F.D. Roosevelt and Wilson services used it), this type of light blue has never been used before on American state china.
The new Obama service porcelain was designed by First Lady Michelle Obama, with assistance from her friend, the interior designer Michael S. Smith. Planning for the new china began in the fall of 2011, and Obama consulted White House chefs (past and present), White House staff, and the Pickard China company of Illinois on the design and style of the porcelain, pieces, and color. White House dinners are growing ever-larger in size. Existing White House china settings are often used together, mixed and matched so that 400-, 500-, and even 600-setting dinners can be given. Michelle Obama was constrained by the need to design a china service that mixed well with existing china, but which reflected the Obamas' own personal style and tastes.
Each dinner plate in the Obama china service is 12 inches in diameter. The lip of the dinner plate is plain gold gilt. The broad rim of the plate has an undecorated pinwheels and fronds in bas-relief. The bas-relief design was taken from the enamel decoration on the Empire-style china service purchased by James Madison in 1806. The bas-relief element is unique to White House china, which has never featured anything like it before.
The Obama china service made its debut on April 27, 2015. It was first used on April 28 for a state dinner for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Each setting has 11 pieces and there are 320 settings, for a total of 3,520 pieces in the entire service.