This punch bowl, which dates from the period 1822 to 1827, is ornamental with eagles identical to those on the Monroe dessert service made by the Parisian manufactory of Dagoty and Honoré.  Of great significance, and contrary to every published account, the decoration of the Monroe service is executed in lithographic transfer to porcelain, as is the eagle decoration on this bowl.  It differs from the White House service, however, in one important detail.  It bears the name "W. A. Barnet, del." inscribed within the ribbon that flows outward from each eagle.
   The bowl is one of the most significant discoveries from the Monroe era to enter the market in recent years.  It not only provides documentation for the designer of the Dagoty and Honoré service and insight into the furnishing of the President's House, it helps expand our understanding of the relationship between the American government and diplomatic circles abroad, and highlights the strong relationship between France and the United States in the period after the War of 1812.  The bowl also provides an important link to a large body of previously unexplored documentary material.  These documents, deposited in the archives of the State Department, have been overlooked in previous explorations of decorative arts associated with the President's House.
   William Armand Barnet (b. 1795), whose name appears on this bowl, can be counted among the most talented Americans in France during the early nineteenth century.  He was the eldest son of Isaac Cox Barnet, a professional American diplomat who served in a number of posts after 1797, including early appointments as American Consul to Brest and Commercial Agent at Le Havre.