18TH CENTURY

The present vases were formerly in the collection of Albert Gallatin (1761-1849), an accomplished politician whose long political career began in the Pennsylvania General Assembly and continued as he served as a member of congress and founder of the House Committee on Finance. Gallatin served as Secretary of the Treasury under president Thomas Jefferson, where he served from 1801-1814, and during this time was on a committee to negotiate the Treaty of Ghent which successfully put an end to the War of 1812. Gallatin also held numerous other political positions during his career including Ambassador to France, and Ambassador to Britain. In 1831 Gallatin founded New York University, and is the namesake of the Albert Gallatin School of Individualized study at New York University.