The loan exhibition of the 55th Washington Antiques Show, The Eagle Takes Flight-Symbol of a New Nation, will be organized by the Society of the Cincinnati and on view at the Katzen Arts Center at American University on January 7-10, 2010. The exhibition will explore the artistic use of the eagle as the symbol of the nation and the Society in early America. Drawn primarily from the Society's collections, The Eagle Takes Flight will feature historic artifacts, including armaments and examples of the Society's gold-and-enamel insignia; fine arts; ceramics; rare books, manuscripts and maps; textiles; and furniture.

With the approval of the design for the Great Seal of the United States in June 1782, the bald eagle was cemented as the primary emblem of America. The eagle appeared earlier in the eighteenth century in portraits, flags and seals signifying leadership, strength, and bravery, but as only one of numerous symbols used to represent America. An Indian maiden, an armored warrior, a liberty cap and a rattlesnake were some of the popular symbols used through the early years of the Revolutionary War. The final design for the Great Seal was a collaboration of Charles Thomson, secretary of the Continental Congress, and Philadelphia artist William Barton. The design features the eagle with a shield on its breast and an olive branch and arrows in its talons, with a constellation of thirteen stars overhead and the motto E Pluribus Unum, "Out of Many, One." The Great Seal quickly gained popularity throughout the new nation and appeared with much artistic variation on objects ranging from paintings and porcelains to household goods and books.

A year after the Great Seal was created, the bald eagle was also employed as the central device of the emblems of the Society of the Cincinnati, an organization of veteran officers of the Revolutionary War formed in May 1783. French artist and engineer Pierre L'Enfant, an original member of the Society who would later plan the city of Washington, designed the Society's insignia, known commonly as the Eagle. The gold medal, in the shape of an eagle, bears an oval medallion on its breast with scenes of the revered Roman citizen-soldier Cincinnatus. The Society's Eagle also appeared on sets of Chinese export porcelain owned by original members, including George Washington. The Society's parchment membership certificate, also designed by L'Enfant, includes the Eagle insignia radiating above a patriotic scene celebrating the American victory over the British. These tangible emblems of the Society communicated the goals of its founders to their fellow Americans—to preserve the memory of the achievement of American independence and the legacy of the citizen-soldiers who fought to secure it, then returned to their homes as peaceful civilians in the new American republic.

The Eagle Takes Flight will feature a variety of objects that reveal the symbolism and artistry of these two uniquely American emblems. Among them are: a rare copy of the 1783 book published in Paris with the first printing of the Great Seal on its title page, a rich ca. 1785 textile printed with early symbols of America in the Apotheosis of Washington and Franklin pattern, and an early-nineteenth-century sword with an eagle-head pommel. Objects related to the Society of the Cincinnati's Eagle include L'Enfant's watercolor sketches for the Eagle and membership certificate and original examples of the Society Eagle and porcelain.