Decorated ceramic plate presented as a wedding gift to the couple Lois Silverman and Elihu Jacob Gorodesky. Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, USA, 1955. Redware; slip; sgraffito decoration. Signed and captioned (on reverse). The bride and groom are depicted at the center of the plate, encircled by tulips, doves, and a house. Two inscriptions are engraved on the edge. The outer one gives the name of the bride and groom and the date: "Lois Silverman, Elihu Jacob Gorodesky, April 17, 1955"; the inner inscription is a quote from an old German hymn: "Sing, bet und geh auff Gottes wegen; Vericht das deine nur getreu…" ("Sing, pray, and go on God's way; Do what thou hast to do faithfully. God's goodness and truth are always new each day"). An English inscription on the back of the plate explains its history and derivation: "Design adopted from original plate made in 1793. This plate hand made and hand decorated in traditional manner and colors." The dish was evidently inspired by a plate created in 1793 by the 18th-century potter Andrew Headman, a member of the so-called "Pennsylvania Dutch, " Pennsylvania's German-speaking Christian community, on the occasion of the wedding of one of his colleagues. The original plate was kept in what is today the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The manufacture of red earthenware vessels – decorated with tulips and other motifs, and inscribed with catchphrases – was the specialty of Pennsylvania Dutch potters. Diameter: 28.5 cm. Good condition. Fracture to length of plate, restored. Chipping along length of fracture, mostly on back. Suspension hook.